
^^^M LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



DDDl'=3b5E24S 




Book 1^ 



'5r§e listotical TSible 



THE WORK AND TEACHINGS 
OF THE APOSTLES 



THE HISTORICAL BIBLE 

By CHARLES FOSTER KENT, Ph.D., Lixt.D. 
Professor of Biblical Literature in Yale University 

ARRANGEMENT OF VOLUMES: 

L The Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew His- 
tory. From the Creation to the Death of 
Moses. {Ready.) 

n. The Founders and Rulers of United Israel. 

From the Death of Moses to the Division 
of the Hebrew Kingdom. (,Ready.) 

in. The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah. 

From the Division of the Kingdom to the 
Babylonian Exile. (Ready.) 

IV. The Makers and Teachers of Judaism. From 
the Fall of Jerusalem to the Death of 
Herod the Great. {Ready.) 

V. The Life and Teachings of Jesus. Accord- 
ing to the Earliest Records. (Beady.) 

VI. The Work and Teachings of the Apostles. 
From the Death of Jesus to the End of 
the First Century. 












I 
I 



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^Lamps'aca 









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!»P 



THE 

Main Highways 

OF THE 

ROBIAN EMPIRE 

ANB THE 

Scenes of Paul's Work 









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C Y R E N A I C 



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/// 



o Sidlp 

ftj Tyr' 

^ Cae^sar^ 



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THE 

Main Highways 

OF THE 

ROMAN EMPIRE 

AND THE 

Scenes of Paul's Work 

SCALE OF MILES 



C6e !J)istotical IBible 



THE WORK AND TEACHINGS 
OF THE APOSTLES 



BY 
CHARLES FOSTER KENT, Ph.D., Litt.D, 

U 

■WrOOLSET PROFESSOB OF BIBLICAL LITEBATUEE IN YALE UNIVKBSITY 



WITH MAP AND CHART 



CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 

NEW YORK CHICAGO BOSTON 




77/ crri^tH^^^ 



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Copyright, 1916, bt 
CHARLES SCRIBNERS SONS 



/, 




> ! PREFACE 

•%) The Apostolic Age is the most complex period of biblical history. 
Until the death of Jesus the interest of the biblical student is focused 

^^ on the Hebrew race, but after that great turning-point in human his- 
•* tory it suddenly becomes world-wide. Rome soon takes the place of 

\^ Jerusalem as the centre of Christianity, and its historical background 
is the great Graeco-Roman world. It is dm-ing the ApostoHc Age 

''*^ that the relatively narrow current of Jewish thought mingles with 
those which flow from the ancient East, from cultured HeUas, and from 
Rome itself. The mingling of these currents explains the resulting 
complexity of apostolic life and thought. The New Testament writ- 
ings vividly reflect this minghng of ci\Tlizations and ideas. As they 
stand these books also lack chronological arrangement. To most 
New Testament readers the latter part of the New Testament is a 
labyrinth. It is full of immortal truths and richly suggestive of the 
heroism and hopes of the early Christians; but, aside from the book 
of Acts, the New Testament writings in their present order fail to make 
clear the unity of the mighty, onward, first-century movement of 
which they are practically the only record. Therefore a chronological 
synthesis of the material in the epistles and Acts is an indispensable 
prerequisite for the intelligent study of apostoHc Christianity. 

The cumulative testimony of an ever-increasing body of biblical 
students confirms the conclusion that the most fruitful, in fact, the 
only satisfactory way to study biblical history and the complex Htera- 
tiu'e contained in the Old and New Testaments, is by means of the 
source-method. When the more important passages of this ancient 
literature are singled out and arranged according to the scientific 
methods of classification, the biblical writers tell their own story and 
the modern student gains for the first time a clear and comprehensive 
knowledge of the abounding life and the vital principles recorded in 
the Bible. In endeavoring to lay the foundations for this study, I 
have been constantly helped and inspired, not only by work in the 
college classroom, but also by scores and hundreds of letters from men 
and women in various professions and activities who have been able 



PREFACE 

to speak from their practical experience in the larger laboratory of 
life. To endeavor to lay before them in each succeeding period those 
portions of the Bible that are the most significant and to leave out 
none that are of primary importance has been one of the constant aims 
of this series. In the present volume the task has been especially dif- 
ficult, yet inspiring because of the richness of the material. In Paul's 
epistles the historian also possesses contemporary records which are 
of priceless value; but even here frequent omissions bring out in clearer 
relief the remaining passages which present the logical thought and the 
essential teachings of the great apostle to the Gentiles. Following 
the example of modern translators like Moffatt and Weymouth, I 
have broken up many of Paul's cumbersome and involved sentences 
into smaller and more intelligible units. By so doing the modern 
reader is enabled to gain a truer appreciation, not only of the apK)s- 
tle's thought but also of his vigorous literary style. 

The large debt which I owe to the writers who have pioneered this 
many-sided field is suggested in the Appendix. To my former student, 
Professor Case, of the University of Chicago, I feel under especial 
obligation for his illuminating survey of the religious background of 
the Apostolic Age in his Evolution of Christianity. The study of each 
succeeding period of biblical history has also brought into increasing 
prominence the lofty yet practical social idealism of the men who in- 
spired and wrote the Old and New Testaments. The subject is too 
large and to vital to be presented only fragmentarily. Its com- 
prehensive treatment is, therefore, reserved for a separate volume on 
"The Social Teachings of the Prophets and Jesus.'* 

C. F. K. 
Yale University,* 

January f 1916. 



VI 



CONTENTS 



INTRODUCTION 

THE RECORDS AND BACKGROUND OF THE APOSTOLIC 

AGE 

PAG] 

I. The Records of the Work and Teachings of the Apos- 
tles ] 

I. The Significance of the Apostolic Age. — II. The New 
Testament Letters and Epistles. — III. The Aim of the Book 
of Acts.— IV. Its Authorship and Date. — V. The Early 
Sources Quoted in Acts l^-lS^s. — VI, Later Traditions in 
li_1535._vil. The Journal of Travel. 

II. The Historical and Religious Background of the 

Apostolic Age i 

I. The Rulers of Rome. — II. What' Rome Did for Chris- 
tianity. — III. Contemporary Palestinian Judaism. — IV. The 
Judaism of the Dispersion. — V. The Greek Philosophies. 
— ^VI. The Emperor-Worship. — ^VII. The Mystery-Relig- 
ions. — ^VIII. The Religious and Social Needs of the Masses 
in the Roman Empire. 



PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY IN PALESTINE AND SYRIA 

§CXLVI. The Origin of the Jerusalem Christian Com- 
munity 21 

Acts 113-18. 20-25^ 21' 2' *• ^*' 12-*1. 

I. The Return of the Disciples to Jerusalem. — II, The 
Choice of a Successor to Judas. — III. The Story of the Day 
of Pentecost. — IV. T<he Coming of the Spirit. — ^V. Peter's 
Memorable Sermon. — VI. The Faith of the Early Chris- 
tian Believers. 

§ CXLVII. The Life of the Primitive Christian Com- 
munity 34 

Acts 24*-4l<. "-M. 29-37, 51-16. 

I. The Historical Record. — II. The Healing of the Lame 
Beggar. — III. Peter's Interpretation of the Old Testament 
Prophecies. — IV. His Defense before Jesus' Murderers. — 
V. The Effect of the Release of Peter and John upon the 
Christian Community. — VI The Communistic Tendencies 
of the Believers. — VII. The Story of Ananias and Sapphira. 
— VIII. The Religious Life of the Jerusalem Christians. 

vii 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

§ CXLVIII. The Work and Death of Stephen 45 

Acts 61-7S. 8b^o, 8«. 

I. The Story of Stephen's Martyrdom. — II . The Appointment 
of the Seven. — III. Stephen's Discussions with the Hellenistic 
Jews. — IV. The Logic of Stephen's Speech. — V. His Death. 

§CXLIX. The Expansion op Christianity after the 

Death of Stephen 54 

Acts S^^' *-*'>, IV^' ". 24, «b^ 121-2S. 

I. The Far-Reaching Effects of Stephen's Martyrdom. — II. 
The Samaritan Field. — III. The Results of PhiUp's Preach- 
ing in Samaria. — IV. His Conversation with the Ethiopian 
Eunuch. — V. The Spread of Christianity to Antioch. — VI. 
The Persecution of the Jerusalem Christians by Herod 
Agrippa I. — VII. Peter's Changed Attitude Toward the 
Gentiles. — ^VIII. The Limitations and Significance of Early 
Palestinian Christianity. 



PAUL'S WORK AND TEACHINGS 
§ CL. Paul's Early TRAmmG and Conversion 68 

Acts 223, Gal. l". ", Acts 269-18, Gal. 1«-", Acts 26»», II 
Cor. 11»2. w. Gal. II8-24. 

I. Paul's Inheritance. — II. His Personality. — III. His Early 
Environment at Tarsus. — IV. His Training at Jerusalem. — 
V. His Zeal as a Persecutor. — VI. The Four Accoimts of His 
Conversion. — VII. His Transforming Psychological Experi- 
ence. — ^VIII. His First Fifteen Years of Missionary Activity. 

§ CLI. Paul's First Missionary Campaign 80 

Acts 1225. 26, 1127-30, 122S, 131-1428. 

I. Paul's Work at Antioch. — II. The Sending Forth of Bar- 
nabas and Paul. — III. Theh- Work in Cyprus. — IV. The 
Mission Field in Southern Asia Minor. — V. At Galatian 
Antioch.— VI. The Apostles' Work at Iconiumland Lystra. 

§ GLII. The Breaking of Jewish Bonds 91 

Gal. 21-16, Acts 15i-!w. 

I. The Burning Problem in the Christian Church. — II. The 
Accounts of the Way in Which It Was Solved. — III. Paul's 
Interview with the Pillars" at Jerusalem. — IV. Problems 
Arising from the Association of Jewish and Gentile Chris- 
tians. — V. Paul's Controversy with Peter. — VI. The Sig- 
nificance of the Breaking of Jewish Bonds. 

§CLIII. Paul's Second Visit and Later Letter to the 

Churches of Galatia 100 

Acts 15»«-16», Gal. li-«, 3i-7. 2S-29, 41-20, 52-6, is_6i8. 

I. Date and Aim of Paul's Second Missionary Campaign. 

— II. Revisiting the Galatian Churches. — III. The Occasion 

viii 



CONTENTS 



of Paul's Letter to the Galatians. — IV. The Literary Struc- 
tiire and Contents of Galatians. — V. Paul's Interpretation of 
the Significance of the Jewish Law and of the Work of Jesus. 
— VI. The Responsibilities of Spiritual Liberty. 

§ CLIV. Paul's Missionary Work m Macedonia 109 

Acts 166-1715. 

I. Paul's Quest of a New Mission Field. — II. His Vision at 
Troas. — III His Work at Philippi. — IV. The Foimding of 
the Church at Thessalonica. — V. Paul's Work at Beroea. — 
VI. The Results of His "Work in Macedonia. 



§ CLV. Paul's Letters to the Christians at Thessalonica 

I Thess. 11-10, 21-55. 12-28, II Thess. li-s, 21-7, 3. 
I. The General Structure of Paul's Letters. — ^11. Then- 
Literary Characteristics. — III. The Occasion of His First 
Letter to the Thessalonians. — IV. Its Contents. — V. The 
Contents and Authenticity of II Thessalonians. — VI. Paul's 
Aim in II Thessalonians. 



119 



§ CLVI. Paul's Work at Athens and Corinth 132 

Acts 1716-1818a. 

I. The Athens of Paul's Day.— II. His Attitude Toward Its 
Intellectual and Religious Life. — III. His Address to the 
Athenian Crowd. — IV. His Skill as an Orator. — ^V. His 
Problems and Methods at Corinth. — VI. The Results of 
His Work in Corinth. 

§CLVII. Paul's Correspondence with the Corinthian 

Church 142 

I Cor. 11-6' 10-17a, 21-29^ 21-5. 11-16, 31-7, 9-11, 16, 17, 21-23, 48_56a, 9-13, 
1512-28, 35-38, 42-44, 49-58, 161-', 10-1*, II COr. IQl-*, 111-6 12". 15 
132-5, 11-4, 23, 21-lOa, 611-13, 72-4, 81-6, QL 2, 10-15_ 

I. Conditions in the Chiu-ch at Corinth that Called Forth 
Paxil's Letters. — II. His First Letter to the Corinthian 
Christians. — III. His Second Letter to the Corinthians. — 
IV. His Third Letter to the Corinthians. — V. His Fourth 
Letter to the Cortathians. 



§ CLVIII. Paul's Principles of Christian Living. 



156 



I Cor. 6, 710-24, 81-4, 7-9, 12, 13, 913-27, 1012, 13, 31-33, 1212-31, 131-145. 13. 

18, 19, 26-33a, 37-40. 

I. Paul's Teaching Regarding the Christian's Duty in His 
Economic Relations. — II. His Advice Regarding Sex Ques- 
tions and Divorce. — III. His Practical Apphcation of Jesus' 
Law of Love. — IV. "The Body of Christ." — V. Paul's Im- 
mortal Hymn in Praise of Love. 

§ CLIX. Paul's Ministry at EphBsus 

Acts 1819-2038. 

I. Paul's Journey to Syria. — II. The Political and Religious 
Importance of Ephesiis. — III. Conditions that Confronted 
Paul at Ephesus. — IV. His Method of Work at Ephesus. — 
V. His Conflict with the Pagan Cults. — VI. The Results of 
His Work at Ephesus. 

ix 



168 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

§ CLX. Paul's Interpretation of Jesus' Saving Work 179 

Romans l'. 6-25, 26-", 39-12. 20.31, 4i3-i7b, 51-11, g, liss-ss, 

I. Date and Aim of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. — II. Its 
Structure. — III. Paul's Estimate of the Jewish Law. — IV. 
The Influences which Shaped His Conception of Jesus. — 
V. His Doctrine of Salvation through Faith in Christ. 

§ CLXI. Paul's Social Teachings 190 

Romans 121-I418, 151-9. 16^-21. 

I. The Two Sides of Paul's Personality and Teaching. — 

II. His Reassertion of Jesus' Social Teachings. — III. His 
Restatement of Jesus' Social Ideal. — IV. The Christian's 
ResponsibUity as a Member of Society. — V. His Duties of 
Toleration and Consideration for Others. — VI. His Obliga- 
tion to Men of All Races. 

§ CLXII. Paul's Last Journey to Jerusalem 200 

Acts 211-40, 2221-2321a, 22-25a. 31-35, 

I. The Record of Paul's Journey to Jerusalem and Rome. — 

II. His Reasons for Revisiting Jerusalem. — III His Recep- 
tion at Jerusalem. — IV. The Jewish Attack. — ^V. The Re- 
sults of Paul's Visit to Jerusalem. 

§ CLXIII. The Ambassador in Bonds 210 

Acts 241-251*. 23, 261-4. 21-2816. 30. 31, 

I. Paul's Imprisonment imder Felix. — II. The Dat« of the 
Procm-atorships of Fehx and Festus. — III. Paul's Reasons 
for Appealing to Caesar. — IV. The Story of His Shipwreck. 
— V. His Journey to Rome. — VI. The End of the Race. 

§ CLXIV. The Last Letters of the Aged Prisoner 223 

Philemon, Col. I1-8. s^", 2i-3. 6-12, 31- 2. »-23, 47-9, le, is, Eph. V-^, 

211-18, 44-6, 11-16, 31, 32, 51, 2, 610-24, PMl. 1 1-", l'-26, 44-20, 

I. Paul's Last Letters. — II. The Occasion of His Letter to 
Philemon. — III. The Piirpose and Thought of His Epistle 
to the Colossians. — IV. The Identity of the So-called "Epis- 
tle to the Ephesians." — V. Paul's Love-Letter to the Phi- 
lippians. — VL His Contributions to Christianity. 



CHRISTIANITY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 
FIRST CENTURY 

§ CLXV. The Message of Hope and Inspiration in I Peter 238 

I Peter li-». "• ", 2i-». »-^, 31-18, 4i-s. 7-19, 5, 
I, The Later Years of the Apostle Peter. — II. His Martyr- 
dom. — III. The Growth of the Western Church. — IV. The 
Persecution of the Christians by Domitian. — V. The Aim 
and Contents of I Peter. — VI. Its Authorship and Date. 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

§ CLXVI. The Early Christian Sermon in Hebrews 250 

Heb. ll-B. 10-^2, 210. 11, 17, 18^ 31-7^ 414-16^ lO^'-**. 32-36^ lll-l". 11-19, «- 
29, 31-40^ 12, 138-15, 20, 21. 

I. The Literary Form of the Epistle to the Hebrews. — 

II. Its Authorship and History. — III. The Aim of the Ser- 
mon in Hebrews. — IV. Its Theme and the Development of 
Its Thought. — V. Its Charm and Power. 

§ CLXVII. The Visions of the Ultimate Victory of Chris- 
tianity IN THE Book of Revelation 262 

Rev. 11-8' 10, lla^ 2l»-5a. 7-13. 18. 1". 25^ 31-4, 7, 8, 10, 14-16, 19-22^ 41-6, 
8b^ S'ea, 11-14^^79, 10, 13, 14-17^ 148-13, IQll-lS. 19-21a, 2011-1^, 211-5.' 22-27^ 
221-5. 10-17. ' 

I. The Aim of the Book of Revelation. — II. Its Theme and 
Literary Character. — III. Its Authorship and Date. — IV. 
Its Contents and Sources. — V. Its Interpretation. 

§CLXVIII. The Christian Wisdom of the Epistle of 

James 277 

James li-2i», 31-43, 5. 

I. The Literary Form of the Epistle of James. — II. Its Aim. 
— III. Its Authorship and Date. — IV. Its Contributions to 
Developing Christianity. — V. Its Democracy. 

§ CLXIX. The Rule of Love in the Early Christian 

Church 287 

I John 11-213. iB-17, 31-8, 9-11, 13-18, 47-21, Apology of Aristides, 
15. 16. 

I. The Aim and Thought of I John. — II. Its Authorship and 
Date. — III. The Personality Back of the Johannine Writ- 
ings. — IV. The Life of the Early Christians. — ^V. The Es- 
sence of Christianity. 

APPENDIX I. A Practical Reference Library 301 

II. General Questions and Subjects for 

Special Research 303 



MAP AND CHART 

The Main Highways of the Roman Empire and the Scenes 

of Paul's Work Frontispiece 

Chronology of the Apostolic Age To face page 21 



XI 



INTRODUCTION 

THE RECORDS AND BACKGROUND OF 
THE APOSTOLIC AGE 

I 

THE RECORDS OF THE WORK AND TEACHINGS 
OF THE APOSTLES 

I. The Significance of the Apostolic Age. The Apostolic Age 
began with the death of Jesus in 29 or 30 a.d. and ended about the close 
of the first Christian century. This brief three-quarters of a century is 
significant primarily because it represented the practical application, 
the testing, and the crystallizing of the principles of faith and life which 
Jesus had set forth. Christianity then came into close contact and 
competition with many rival religions, such as the Roman emperor- 
worship, Greek Cynicism, Epicureanism, Stoicism, Judaism, many 
Egyptian and oriental cults, and, above all, Tsdth the popular mystery- 
religions. In this infinitely complex environment Christianity ceased 
to be based on certain simple principles proclaimed by Jesus and il- 
lustrated by his life and acts; it gradually developed an elaborate 
system of doctrines, rules, and institutions. This period marked the 
beginning of that creed-making era which culminated in 325 a.d. in 
the formulation and acceptance by the Western Church of the Nicene 
Creed. It also witnessed the spread of Christianity from the Httle 
community at Jerusalem to Rome and to the mdest bounds of the 
Roman Empire. It saw the growth of a chain of Christian churches 
reaching from Babylon in the East to Spain in the West and from the 
Black Sea in the North to the heart of Africa in the South. 

The vital questions presented by the period are historical and doc- 
trinal. How far was the faith of Christianity based on the teachings 
of Jesus ? How far did it come from the active mind of Paul ? How 
far was it a composite of Jewish, Greek, and oriental ideas ? Fortu- 

1 



RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES 

nately, in answering these complex yet fundamental questions, we have 
as a basis of comparison the older records of Jesus' work and teachings. 
We can focus the search-light of these teachings upon those of Paul 
and of the other New Testament writers, even as the Great Teacher 
turned them upon those of the older prophets, priests, and sages. 
The historical study of the literature of the Apostolic Age gives us also 
a fresh vision of Jesus. Hitherto the Christian church has seen him 
largely through the medium of Paul's theology; but now we are be- 
ginning to distinguish in Paul three distinct elements : (1) The Pharisee 
and devoted student of the Jewish law; (2) The Roman citizen and 
heir to many of the complex religious ideas current in western Asia 
during the first Christian century; (3) Paul the mystic and the devoted 
follower of Jesus who interpreted the teachings of his Master in the 
light of his own rich personal experience. With a clearer knowledge 
of the influences which entered into Paul's vision, we are better able 
to-day to interpret what he actually saw and thus to see Jesus anew 
through the eyes of the earliest New Testament writer. 

11. The New Testament Letters and Epistles. Fortunately, we 
are not dependent upon secondary sources for our knowledge of Paul. 
The oldest writings in the New Testament come directly from this 
heroic apostle to the Gentiles and furnish contemporary testimony re- 
garding the most important movements of the first quarter century 
following the death of Jesus. Paul's letters and epistles were the 
spontaneous outgrowth of his work. When it was reported to him 
that false teachers were attempting to undermine his influence with 
the churches which he had established in Galatia, with hot indignation 
and earnest zeal he sat down and wrote his impassioned letter to the 
Galatians. Again, when he was unable to go in person and counsel his 
disciples in the newly established church at Thessalonica, he put into 
his letters known as I and II Thessalonians the words which he would 
doubtless have spoken could he have visited them. Later, in his ab- 
sence from Corinth, he carried on an active correspondence with his 
fellow Christians there, which is at present incorporated in I and II 
Corinthians. When he found that he could not go on directly to Rome, 
as he had hoped, he embodied in a more general epistle the essence of 
his theological teaching, and added a practical application of the prin- 
ciples of Christianity to the every-day problems of life. Thus arose 
the New Testament book known as the Epistle to the Romans. 
Through these letters and epistles of Paul it is possible to know him 
almost as intimately as did those who sat under his direct teaching. 

2 



NEW TESTAMENT LETTERS AND EPISTLES 

They introduce us to Paul as he pleads with the disciples to choose 
the right, or as he pours out his passionate protestations of affection 
and appreciation, or as he declares his faith in God and in his son, 
Jesus Christ, or at the high moments of his thought and experience, 
as when, for example, he sings his immortal hymn of love. Few 
characters of antiquity are revealed more clearly than is that of Paul 
in his ten or twelve original epistles. Even in pastoral epistles like 
Titus and I and II Timothy the nucleus is undoubtedly Pauline and 
the spirit of the great apostle transfuses them, though in their final 
form they probably came from the pens of later disciples. These epis- 
tles also give valuable incidental information regarding the details of 
Paul's work and of conditions in the Roman world, thus richly supple- 
menting and at several points correcting the more systematic record 
of Acts. In these epistles, as well as in the later writings associated 
with the names of Peter, and James, and John, it is possible to trace 
clearly the growth of Christian institutions and doctrines. Epistles 
like II and III John and Philemon contain many personal touches 
which reveal the spirit and Hfe of the early Christians. In Hebrews 
we listen to a great Christian preacher, setting forth the doctrines of 
the church as they were taught near the close of the first century. 
Thus through the epistles it is possible to view from many different 
angles the early growth and expansion of Christianity. 

III. The Aim of the Book of Acts. The reference in the preface 
of the book of Acts to "my former volume" and to "Theophilus" im- 
plies that the purpose of its author was to continue the narrative of 
the Third Gospel and to trace the triumphs and progress of the Chris- 
tian church from Jerusalem to Rome. A closer examination of Acts 
reveals the fact that its aim was not merely historical but irenical, 
practical, and to a certain extent apologetic. Its author evidently 
had three classes of readers in mind: (1) the Jewish and Gentile fol- 
lowers of Jesus; (2) the Jews who refused to accept Jesus as the Mes- 
siah; and (3) the Graeco-Roman world. His practical aim therefore 
is threefold: First, to reconcile the differences in the early church re- 
garding its duty to Gentiles and to show how, notwithstanding the op- 
position of certain narrow Judaizers in its ranks, under the guidance 
of the Spirit of God and through the heroism and persistency of the 
early apostles, and especially of Paul, it had swept over the barriers 
of Jewish and heathen opposition, and finally gained a firm foothold in 
the capital city of the empire. These facts are presented as the final, 
pragmatic answer to the objections of the narrow Judaistic Christians. 

3 



RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES 

The second aim is to demonstrate that Christianity was born mider 
the shadow of the temple or in the Jewish synagogues, and that not 
Christianity but Judaism precipitated the bitter hostihty between the 
two kindred faiths. The third aim is to win a favorable reception for 
Christianity at Rome and from the Roman officials throughout the 
empire. To that end especial emphasis is placed upon Paul's Roman 
citizenship and on the endeavor to show that his persecutions and im- 
prisonments came simply as the result of malignant Jewish or heathen 
attacks, and that the Roman officials with practical uniformity defended 
rather than assailed him. This aim doubtless explains why there is 
no mention of Paul's flogging by the Roman lictors, as recorded in II 
Corinthians 11^^ and why the narrative of Acts ends abruptly, saying 
nothing about Paul's final trial and execution. The all-embracing aim 
was to show how the spirit and presence of Jesus continued to inspire 
and direct his followers, so that all that they taught and accomplished 
was inspired by their living Lord and Master. 

IV. Authorship and Date of Acts. The critical scholarship of 
the last century has tended to confirm the testimony of early-church 
tradition that Luke, the companion of Paul, was the writer of both the 
Third Gospel and the present book of Acts. Detailed studies of each 
word and phrase have demonstrated that the same literary character- 
istics recm* throughout these books. The preponderance of medical 
terms, the marked interest in miracles of healing, and the evidence at 
every turn of the exact knowledge which only a physician could pos- 
sess {cf. Hobart, Medical Language of St. Luke) distinguish Acts and 
the Third Gospel from all other New Testament \^Titings. This re- 
markable unity of literary style and medical interest points clearly to 
Luke, the physician, as their common author. The direct statements 
in Acts strongly confirm this conclusion. In the accounts of Paul's 
journey from Troas to Philippi (16^°-^'^), later from Philippi to Jerusalem 
(20^-21^^), and from Csesarea to Rome (27-28), the author wTites in the 
first person, indicating that he accompanied Paul. The detailed ac- 
count of their last journey to Rome implies that only two friends, 
Aristarchus and the author of the so-called "we" sections, were with 
Paul. Of the six friends whom Paul states were with him at Rome 
during his imprisonment (Col. 4^o-i4^ Philemon 23-24) practically none 
except Luke the "beloved physician" (in the light of Acts 15^^, 27^, and 
II Tim. 4^°) could have been the author of this journal of travel. 

Little is known regarding Luke, but that little is significant. It 
is clear that he was a Greek Christian. He was certainly for a time a 

4 



AUTHORSHIP AND DATE OF ACTS 

resident and possibly a native of Philippi, although tradition makes 
him a native of Syrian Antioch. He accompanied Paul in his longer 
and more important journeys, probably in the capacity of medical at- 
tendant; but he is also mentioned by the great apostle as a "co- 
worker." His keen interest in all questions which concerned the life 
and work of Jesus and the extension of Christianity throughout the 
Roman world is clearly demonstrated in the writings which have 
come from his pen. Acts 21^'^° indicates that he remained for a time 
in the house of Philip the Evangelist and that at Jerusalem he had ample 
opportunity to converse with James, the brother of Jesus, as well as 
with many others of the early Christian disciples. At other times 
he was associated with John Mark, Barnabas, and Silas, and in fact 
was personally acquainted with practically all of the great Christian 
leaders of the Apostolic Age. His opportunities, therefore, for gather- 
ing information and written records regarding the facts of which he 
writes were unusual. The culture, the historical method, and the 
broad interest revealed throughout his writings give to them a unique 
value. 

The date of the book of Acts is still an open question. Its preface 
indicates that it was written after the Third Gospel, and its general 
point of view is that of the last quarter of the first Christian century, 
when the spirited conflicts between the Jewish and Gentile sections of 
the church had lost much of their bitterness. Its obvious endeavor to 
commend Christianity to the Roman world and to demonstrate that 
the early apostles were never hindered nor attacked by Roman officials 
suggests strongly that the book of Acts was written late in the century, 
when Roman opposition was beginning to develop but before the 
violent persecutions under Domitian about 96 a.d. The book in its 
final form may therefore be dated with considerable assurance between 
80 and 95 a.d. i 

V. The Early Sources Quoted in Acts I^-IS^^. If we did not 
have the original Gospel of Mark, we would not have known that Luke 
in his gospel was quoting extensively from this older written source, 
for his method was to reproduce the ideas and facts of the original in 
his own language. This literary habit makes the discovery of the 
early sources which he quoted exceedingly difficult. The evidence, 
however, is convincing that in Acts, as well as in his gospel, he utilized 
earlier records. Here the linguistic evidence is especially strong, for, as 
Professor Torrey has shown {The Aramaic Source in Acts), practically 
all of Acts 1^15^^ is Luke's translation of an older Aramaic source or 



RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES 

sources. This fact is vitally important, for it strongly supports the 
historical value of this part of Acts. Luke's sources were not floating, 
popular traditions but definite, written records evidently committed to 
writing long before Luke completed our present book of Acts. The 
linguistic evidence suggests that Luke found the Aramaic original of the 
first part of his history of early Christianity in practically the same 
form as he has given it to us in his Greek translation. The internal 
proof, however, is cumulative that originally independent documents 
or traditions have been combined in this old Aramaic source. In one 
or two cases duplicate traditions of the same event are discernible. 
Thus the analogies are so many and so close between the simple, 
straightforward account of the imprisonment and liberation of Peter 
and John in Acts 4^"^^ and the more miraculous and elaborate version 
in 5^"^-^, that there is little doubt that they are older and later versions 
of the same incident. In Acts 9, 22, and 26 Luke also gives three 
distinct accounts of Paul's conversion, each of which differs in details 
from the others. The incompleteness of certain of the narratives also 
points to originally independent sources. Thus, for example, in 1 1^ and 
15^ the elders at Jerusalem are introduced without any explanation of 
their origin. In 12^'^ James, the brother of Jesus, suddenly appears with- 
out any account of his conversion or explanation of how he became the 
leader of the Jerusalem Christian community. In different parts of the 
book diverse points of view are also apparent. Thus in chapters 3-5, 8, 
and 9^-11*^, the interest centres in Peter and to him is attributed the 
pioncOT work in reconciHng the variant views of the Jewish and Gentile 
Christians regarding their obhgations to the Jewish ceremonial law. 
But in the section which begins with chapter 13 it is Paul's persistency 
and initiative, even in the face of strong opposition, that finally leads to 
the breaking of Jewish bonds. The only satisfactory explanation of 
these minor, yet significant variations, is that originally distinct tradi- 
tions have here been combined. At least two important groups of early 
Christian traditions may be distinguished in chapters 3-15. The first 
is found in 3^5^ 8^^ g^i-ll^s, and U^-"^. The geographical back- 
ground is Palestine and the events gather about Jerusalem, Csesarea, 
and Samaria. Peter and Philip are the chief actors. It is possible 
that the facts which these stories record were gathered and written 
down by Philip or his daughters. The narratives found in 6^8^, ll^^-^o 
centre about Jerusalem and Antioch and form the natural introduction 
to the account of the first missionary campaign of Paul and Barnabas, 
found in Acts 1225-15^^. It has been suggested that Silas, who, accord- 

6 



THE EARLY SOURCES QUOTED IN ACTS 

ing to 15^^, was sent as a messenger by the Jerusalem church to the 
Christians at Antioch, was perhaps the one who wrote this group of 
narratives. Whatever be their exact history, it is clear that these nar- 
ratives must be regarded as the primary sources in the book of Acts. 
The complete absence of any reference to the destruction of Jerusalem 
or to the bitter persecutions which the Christians experienced under 
Nero favor the conclusion that the majority of them at least were 
written early in the second half of the first century. 

VI. Later Traditions in 1^-15^^. In addition to the material 
drawn from the earlier written sources certain narratives are found in 
the first part of Acts which bear all the marks of being secondary. 
The first is the account of the ascension in 1^^^. In the Gospel of Luke 
Jesus' ascension takes place at the close of the day on which he arose 
from the grave {(^. V, 304, 305) ; but in the account in Acts it is at the 
end of forty days. Why Luke preferred to incorporate this in his 
later work is not entirely clear. Its presence has been one of the chief 
stumbling-blocks in accepting the Lucan authorship of Acts. The 
reason is probably because he found it already in the Aramaic source, 
which he quoted as a whole. As has been truly said: "Whatever in- 
volved a miracle attracted rather than repelled Luke." The account 
of the choice of a successor to Judas, in li3-25^ evidently contains an 
important historical kernel. At least this narrative gives us the first 
glimpse into the life of the Christian community at Jerusalem. The 
story of the day of Pentecost resembles in literary character the na- 
tivity stories, which stand at the beginnings of the First and Third 
Gospels, but it clearly preserves the memory of a transcendently im- 
portant event in the early history of Christianity. The later duplicate 
account of the imprisonment and liberation of Peter and John, con- 
tained in 5^^"^, bears the marks of later growth. The account of Paul's 
conversion in 9^"^^ is probably based on what appear to be older ac- 
counts in 22 and 26. Occasional editorial additions, as for example, 
243-47^ 1122. 23. 30^ ^225, may be detected, but the presence of these later 
traditions and editorial additions only tends to confirm the conviction 
that the web and woof of the narratives in Acts 1-15 is very early and 
reliable Christian tradition. 

VII. The Journal of Travel. The excellent historical character 
of the second half of the book of Acts has long been recognized. Here 
at every point a famiharity with details and a certainty of touch are 
apparent which are possible only when the author is intimately familiar 
with the events which he is recording, as well as with their geographical 

7 



RECORDS OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES 

and historical setting. Recent excavations and research have signally 
confirmed the accuracy of the minute political, social, and religious al- 
lusions to the peculiar and rapidly changing conditions in Asia Minor 
and southern Europe. The explanation of these significant facts is 
furnished by the book of Acts itself. As has already been noted, in 
1610-18, 20^15^ 211-18, 27l-28l^ the author speaks not in the tMrd but in the 
first person, thereby quietly setting forth the fact that he himself was a 
witness of the events which he records. The exactness and minuteness 
of detail which characterize these passages also suggest strongly that 
Luke is not dependent upon verbal memory but upon a journal of 
travel, such as it was customary for companions of important travellers 
to keep in order to recall their experiences. It is also probable that in 
the passages where the third person is used Luke was also able to draw 
from his own notes or from those of others who acconipanied Paul, for 
they reveal much the same minuteness and exactness of detail as do 
the so-called "we" passages. This conviction is confirmed by the 
fact that from 15^^ to the end of the book there is not the slightest 
evidence that Luke was translating from earlier Aramaic sources. The 
style is homogeneous throughout. In contrast to the first part of the 
book, where Luke is quoting from older Aramaic sources and where 
there are nearly a hundred quotations from the Old Testament, the 
second part of Acts contains only one or two quotations. The whole 
is written not only in a finished literary style but also from the point of 
view of Luke, who beyond reasonable doubt was himself the author of 
the journal of travel. 

Thus out of a half century of radical criticism, which has been in- 
clined at times to seriously discredit the historicity of the book of Acts, 
it has emerged and stands as one of the best historical documents that 
have come down to us from antiquity. Its faults are shared in common 
with the best historical writings of the period as, for example, the Annals 
of Tacitus, in which miracle stories are recounted with the greatest as- 
surance. In using the book of Acts it is important to follow the pri- 
mary sources. There is every reason to believe that these give us a re- 
markably faithful picture of the chief characters and events in the 
early history of the Christian church. While the book of Acts is ex- 
cellent history, it is more than a history, it is the epic of conquering 
Christianity; it is the pragmatic proof of the invincible power of the 
spirit and teachings of Jesus. 



II 

THE HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND 
OF THE APOSTOLIC AGE 

I. The Rulers of Rome. Augustus realized his lofty ambition 
and brought practically all the civilized nations of the earth under one 
common rule. Rome in the first Christian century represented the 
world, and the emperor was not merely the symbol but the embodi- 
ment of all authority and government. The welfare of the world, 
therefore, depended as never before upon his character and policy. 
As a result, the citizens of the empire experienced the most varied vicis- 
situdes of fortune during the seventy years (between 30 and 100 a.d.) 
which constituted the background of the Apostolic Age. Tiberius, who 
reigned until 37, was a stern moralist, so severe that he was regarded 
as a despot by the Roman nobility, whose vices he vainly endeavored 
to check. Caligula, who reigned from 37 to 41, was thoroughly un- 
sound ^th morally and mentally. The brevity of his reign alone 
saved nife ^pire from shipwreck and his Jewish and Christian subjects 
from terrible persecution, for in his insanity he imperatively demanded 
that he be worshipped as a deity by every citizen of the empire. Clau- 
dius, born in southern Gaul, proved, like Tiberius, a champion of the 
provinces and endeavored by a generous policy to unite in loyal citi- 
zensliip all parts of the empire. He laid do^vn the significant principle : 
**It is right that men should live in the religion of their country." He 
also instituted humane laws in behalf of slaves. For the first time in 
the history of Rome the killing of a slave by his master was branded 
as a capital offense. After a reign of thirteen years Claudius was suc- 
ceeded in 54 by Nero, who came to the throne at the age of seventeen 
as a result of the intrigues of his mother, Agrippina. For the first 
eight years of his reign the direction of the government was left almost 
entirely to Burrus, the Pretorian prefect, and Seneca, the Stoic philos- 
opher. Seneca favored the provinces, although he himself amassed a 
great fortune through the misuse of his official position. At the death 
of Burrus in 62 Seneca killed himself at the emperor's command; and 

9 



THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE 

Nero assumed active control of the government. In contrast to his 
profligate nobles, Nero was not altogether bad but capricious. His 
persecution of the Christians in 64 was only one of the many mad acts 
of tyranny that in 68 led to a revolt of the provinces which drove Nero 
to suicide. In the anarchy which ensued four Roman emperors were 
crowned within a year, three of whom were military leaders. The last, 
Vespasian, the commander of the Roman army in SjTia, a plebeian, 
succeeded in restoring peace to the empire. Setting aside the old 
Roman nobility, he recruited its ranks from the provinces and the cities 
of Italy. Thereby he gave new life to the Senate which, nominally at 
least, represented the people. Henceforth it supported the emperor 
and assisted him in the reorganization of the empire. Titus, the con- 
queror of Jerusalem, who in 79 succeeded his father, was kind and benev- 
olent, intent only on promoting the welfare of his subjects. After a 
short reign of two years he was succeeded in 81 by his younger brother, 
Domitian, a scholar with high moral standards but ambitious of power 
and suspicious of the Senate. During his reign of fifteen years the 
empire prospered, but many of his subjects and especially the Chris- 
tians were the victims of his tyranny and suspicions. Nerva, who in 
96 was chosen as Domitian's successor by the Senate, shared his author- 
ity with his colleagues and inaugurated an era of Uberty and good-will 
which was perpetuated by his successor, Trajan (98-117). The rulers 
of this period present the most striking contrasts. Claudius^ ^d Ves- 
pasian heroically endeavored to conserve the interests i^^ their 
subjects. Caligula and Nero, on the other hand, were absolutely irre- 
sponsible and vicious. Titus and Nerva were too lenient toward of- 
fenders and too lax in their rule to control the diverse elements in the 
empire. Tiberius and Domitian were conscientious tyrants who won 
the ill will of the majority of their subjects. Under these very differ- 
ent types of rulers Christianity in turn prospered and was persecuted. 
II. What Rome Did for Christianity. It is an unquestioned 
fact that Rome alone made possible Christianity's marvellous progress 
during the first Christian century. The rapid spread of that local 
cult, an offspring of hated Judaism, until it reached the farthest bounds 
of the Roman Empire is unquestionably the greatest marvel in human 
history. The primary explanation is the personality of the Founder 
of Christianity and the potency of the principles which he proclaimed, 
but the miracle was possible because its environment was uniquely 
favorable. The strong hand of Augustus and of the emperors who 
succeeded him put an end to the destructive wars which had disrupted 

10 



WHAT ROME DID FOR CHRISTIANITY 

and devastated the states encircling the Mediterranean and for a cen- 
tury estabhshed practically unbroken peace. Moreover, Rome unified 
these diverse nations, broke down all political and racial barriers, and 
substituted for petty patriotism an enlarged consciousness of world 
citizenship. Throughout its vast domains Rome established police 
protection; the pirates were hunted from the sea and robbers even from 
the remote mountain passes. Over valleys and rivers and mountains 
broad highways were built which made travel in all parts of the empire 
relatively easy and rapid. Acconunodations for travellers and traders 
were established in all the important cities along these highways, and 
imperial postal service made communication easy. Under the fostering 
protection of Rome, Greek traders, artists, and travelUng philosophers 
carried the culture and language of ancient Hellas from the valleys of 
the Tigris and Euphrates to the Pillars of Hercules, so that Greek be- 
came the common language of communication between all the different 
citizens of the empire, and even in the imperial city. The great pub- 
lishing houses, through the services of hundreds of slaves, were able to 
issue books almost as cheaply as to-day. Literature and the easy 
means of communication made it possible for ideas to travel with 
marvellous rapidity throughout the civilized world. Above all, Rome 
until the very close of the first century was tolerant toward all types 
of religion. Even in the imperial city itself scores of provincial cults 
had their. devotees, their interpreters, and in many cases their priests 
and temples. 

HI. Contemporary Palestinian Judaism. The Apostolic Age 
was a supremely critical period in the history of Judaism. Under the 
rule of the Roman procurators, who in turn were under the immediate 
direction of the emperor, Judea felt most acutely every change in the 
policy of succeeding rulers. Tiberius's zeal to protect the interest of 
the provinces led him in 36 to banish Pontius Pilate on a charge of mis- 
government. The mad Caligula figures both as a friend and a foe of 
the Jews. In 37 he appointed Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod 
the Great, king over the east-Jordan tetrarchy of Phihp and in 39 added 
Galilee and Perea to his dominion. It was at this period that the per- 
sonal intercession of Herod Agrippa, who had been a boon companion 
of Caligula, alone saved the Jews from wholesale slaughter because they 
refused to worship the emperor. The reign of Claudius was a golden 
era for his Jewish subjects. In payment of certain personal obligations 
to Herod Agrippa the emperor made him king over all the territory 
that had belonged to his grandfather, Herod the Great. For three 

11 



THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE 

years, 41-44, the Jews enjoyed great prosperity and privileges under 
his rule. Like most of the Herodian family he was a pagan at heart, 
but he posed as the guardian of Jewish traditions and rights not only 
m Palestine but throughout the Roman world. His sudden death 
in 44 A.D. marked the beginning of a disastrous chapter in Jewish his- 
tory. His son, Agrippa II, was later made king of the kingdom of 
Chalcis and given charge of the Jerusalem temple and the right of ap- 
pointing the high priest, but in 44 a.d. Judah was again placed under 
the rule of the procurators. Each succeeding ruler proved worse than 
his predecessor. The history of Judah from 44 to 66 is a sickening 
record of cruelty and rapacity on the part of the procurators and of 
insurrections, futile messianic uprisings, and growing hatred on the 
part of the Jews. After the death of Nero, and while rival emperors 
were struggling for the imperial throne, the Zealots precipitated the 
final rebellion against Rome which resulted in the complete destruc- 
tion of Jerusalem and the temple. Fanaticism and civil war between 
the different Jewish factions made this one of the bloodiest struggles 
in human history. Finally, after Vespasian had been made emperor, 
Titus, his son, was left victor over a smouldering ruin and a devastated 
land. From 70 to the end of the century the intellectual capital of 
Judaism was transferred to Jamnia. Here its learned rabbis continued 
to study the law. Here also the canon of the Old Testament was com- 
pleted about 90 A.D. Though mortally smitten by Rome, thv Jews con- 
tinued to dream their dreams of the Messiah who would yet descend 
from heaven, judge the heathen nations, and set up his supernatural 
kingdom in which the faithful would be raised from the dead to share 
with those who were living the glories of the messianic reign. 

IV. The Judaism of the Dispersion. In the apostolic history 
the Jews of the dispersion figured more prominently than those of 
Palestine. Continued residence in Greek-speaking lands had produced 
in many ways a different type of Jew from that found under the shadow 
of the temple. He was equally loyal to the traditions and institutions 
of his race and made frequent pilgrimages to the sacred city, but his 
outlook was broader and his mind more open to new truth. Many of 
them, like Philo of Alexandria and the author of IV Maccabees, had 
accepted many of the principles of the Greek philosophers and were 
endeavoring both in theory and practice to reconcile Judaism and 
Hellenism. In their contemporary writings one will find many ideas 
that are familiar to the readers of Paul's epistles. Thus, for example, 
the author of IV Ezra (3^^) declares: ''The first Adam, clothing him- 

12 



THE JUDAISM OF THE DISPERSION 

self with the evil heart, transgressed and was overcome; and likewise 
also all who were born of him." Like their Palestinian brothers, they 
were expecting the speedy advent of a divine messianic king to inaugu- 
rate a new era in human history. Beginning as early as the second cen- 
tury B.C. an earnest missionary spirit had developed among these Jews 
of the dispersion. The Greek translation of the scriptures had been 
made not only for their use but to commend the truths which these 
contained to the Gentile world. In such centres as Alexandria, the 
Greek allegorizing and spirituaHzing methods of interpretation, had been 
apphed by many Jewish scholars to these older scriptures. Israel's cere- 
monial institutions and even the chief events of its history were inter- 
preted simply as symbols of spiritual realities or of future events. 
Under this allegorizing process the strict insistence upon obedience to 
the ceremonial law was gradually given up and thus the door to Judaism 
was opened wide to the Gentile world. 

The intense zeal of these later Jewish missionaries is revealed by the 
volume and variety of the literature which they put forth. By means 
of an elastic, allegorizing method of interpretation all that was finest 
in Greek philosophy was read back into the Old Testament. Moses 
and the later prophets were proclaimed the forerunners of Plato and 
Aristotle. Greek philosophy was thus made the servant of the Jewish 
religion, for whatever the Jews of the dispersion wTote had the prac- 
tical aim of winning converts and of influencing men to live a higher 
moral life. Imitating Homer, Philo of Alexandria wrote an epic de- 
scribing in heroic terms the great events and personalities of Israel's 
history. These earnest missionaries even dramatized that stirring his- 
tory. Fragments of the great religious epic called The Exodiis sur- 
\'ive as an illustration of the way in which they used the methods of the 
Greek drama to commend the religion of Jehovah to the Hellenic world. 
Their earliest efforts were rewarded. Many Greeks and Romans 
shared Israel's faith. A few became what were called "proselytes of 
righteousness," submitting to circumcision and faithfully keeping all 
the commands of the Jewish ceremonial law. These were freely ad- 
mitted to all the services of the temple and enjoyed in full the re- 
ligious privileges of native-born Jews. The majority, however, took 
only a partial step toward Judaism. They accepted its monotheism 
and its moral and social teachings but did not attempt to meet all its 
ceremonial requirements. Apparently these converts were welcomed 
by the Jews of the dispersion and were admitted freely to the services 
of the synagogue. These were included in the class designated in the 

13 



THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE 

book of Acts as the "God-fearing Greeks." They were found In al- 
most every synagogue which Paul visited In the larger cities outside 
Palestine. It Is probable that this class also included the open-minded 
students of religion, of whom there were many, who were seeking re- 
ligious and ethical truth and inspiration wherever they could find them. 
They reveal clearly the religious conditions and spiritual needs of the 
world to which Christianity appealed. From their ranks came most 
of the early Gentile converts. Their presence In the synagogues also 
exerted a powerful broadening influence upon the Jews of the disper- 
sion, preparing them for the reception of the nobler message which 
Christianity brought. Thus this wide-spread Jewish missionary move- 
ment must be reckoned as one of the most important forces in preparing 
the world for Christianity. 

V. The Greek Philosophies. The Jewish scholars of the dis- 
persion, in seeking to reconcile Moses and Plato, paid the highest 
tribute they possibly could to the Greek philosophers. Israel's prac- 
tical religious teachers recognized that there was much in the intel- 
lectual life of Greece that possessed a permanent value for all man- 
kind. They realized that the philosophers, like the Hebrew sages, 
approached life from the point of view of the individual. When the 
gods of the old Greek mythology were beginning to topple Into the 
dust, these lovers of men strove to give their fellows certain working 
principles by which to live. Plato's great permanent contribution to 
Hellenic thought was the belief in individual immortality- In the 
first Christian century he was better represented by Philo, the fan- 
tastic but earnest Jew of Alexandria, than by the dilettante acade- 
micians at Rome, whose attitude on most vital questions was either 
negative or skeptical. 

Epicureanism was still an active force in the empire. These sturdy 
scientists of that early age held that matter was the only ultimate 
reality and that their senses were the only guides to be trusted In the 
quest for truth. All the cm-rent superstitions they unhesitatingly 
threw overboard. They were ready to grant that the gods existed, 
but not that they exerted any Influence In the earth or on the life of 
man. In this respect they stood directly opposed to the Stoics. The 
crowning virtue of the Epicureans was their sturdy loyalty to facts 
as they saw them. It was, however, a cold philosophy entirely devoid 
of spiritual inspiration. 

Out of the noble teaching and example of Socrates grew the two 
philosophies which were potent moral and religious forces in the life 

14 



THE GREEK PHILOSOPHIES 

of the age. Both were Inspired by the same missionary zeal and the 
same interest in the moral welfare of the individual that had actuated 
the great Athenian teacher. Cynicism, whose founder was a pupil 
of Socrates, aimed to teach men how to live true to nature. This 
ideal was often carried to crude extremes. The Cynic philosophers 
were the early prototypes of the Franciscan friars, and they were sin- 
cerely devoted to the interests of the masses. Most of them lived 
lives of noble self-sacrifice and undoubtedly exerted a great influence 
on the people. Their basic creed was closely akin to that of the Stoics. 
This popular philosophy bore the stamp of its eastern origin. It 
taught that the ultimate reality in the universe was not matter but 
reason, and that the final source of reason was God. The Logos, 
or divine Reason, is what binds men to God. All men, therefore, are 
divine in so far as that divine Reason enters into them and they f oUow 
its guidance. Here the author of the first chapter of Genesis and the 
Stoic philosophers join hands. Like the Founder of Christianity, they 
taught that the supreme task in life was to do the divine will, and that 
the will of God is done by living a virtuous life in the service of man. 
In theory at least Stoicism was also democratic, for it taught that all 
men possess this divine Reason and that only those who refuse to 
follow its dictates and commit crimes not in harmony with the divine 
plan are slaves. The Stoics also believed that pain and suffering 
possess a positive value in developing the individual and that therefore 
they should be patiently and even joyously borne. In dealing with 
the old mythologies they, like the Jews of the dispersion, employed the 
allegorical method of interpretation. They also sought to retain the 
older forms of then* religion, as long as they were helpful in develop- 
ing the individual. Regarding his future immortality their teachings, 
especially in the first Christian century, were vague and uncertain. 
To the prosperous, educated man Cynicism and Stoicism had much 
to offer. They seemed to satisfy the facts of experience and furnished 
a practical basis for living. But for the outcast or the man who faced 
death the religion of Reason gave but cold comfort. At the same time 
these two philosophies v/ere in a very real sense pioneers of Christian- 
ity. The belief that men were the children of God, that commimica- 
tion between him and them was possible, and that the end of existence 
was to do his will by living a virtuous and self-sacrificing life had been 
held and taught as strongly by Israel's prophets and sages as by the 
founders of these two philosophies. The doctrine of the Logos, or 
divine Reason, as the bond between God and men was also destined to 

15 



THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE 

exert a powerful influence upon certain phases of Christian thinking, 
and to find acceptance, as it does in the opening verses of the Fourth 
Gospel. 

VI. The Emperor-Worship. Rome did not inherit from its past 
a native religion virile and broad enough to become the religion of the 
empire. Yet the need was keenly felt for a co-ordinating religious 
influence which would reinforce the growing consciousness of political 
unity. Emperor-worship attempted to meet this need. Historically 
it was the product of a long evolutionary process. In its origin the 
idea was Oriental rather than Occidental. In ancient Egypt and Baby- 
lonia the kings were believed to be incarnations of the deity. Thus 
the old Babylonian kings Sargon I and Naram Sin in the fourth mil- 
lennium B.C. placed the sign for god before their names. Gudea, the 
Sumerian king of ancient Lagash, prayed to a goddess: "I have no 
mother, thou art my mother. I have no father, thou art my father. 
... In the sanctuary thou didst bear me." When Alexander the 
Great conquered the East he was soon deified and was worshipped long 
after his death. His successors, the kings of Syria and Egypt, were 
practically without exception thus worshipped. From the Orient this 
tendency to deify successful rulers spread to the Western world. The 
Greeks themselves early show an inclination to worship genius. Thus 
Aristotle reared an altar in Athens to Plato soon after his death. As 
has been well said: "The Greek theory of monarchy started with man 
and made of him its god; the Oriental notion started with God and 
made the monarch in his image" (Case, Evolution of Early Christian- 
ity, p. 205). Pompey was publicly proclaimed a god in Athens. Dio 
Cassius (XLIII, 14^) and Suetonius (Julius Coesar, 76) both state that 
Julius Csesar was styled during his lifetime "The God and Dictator 
and Saviour of All the World." In 42 B.C. the Roman Senate enacted 
that his title should be, "Divus Julius." Augustus's disapproval of 
this strong popular tendency repressed its public expression during 
his lifetime, but it did not prevent the masses from worshipping him 
long after his death. Henceforth it became a fixed institution in the 
Roman Empire. Inasmuch as it was a valuable uniting force, it was en- 
couraged even by the better emperors. Moreover, there soon gathered 
about it certain national hopes that were akin to the Jewish messianic 
expectations. Gentiles as well as Jews were longing for a divine de- 
liverer who would put down evil, establish justice, and inaugurate an 
era of prosperity. Vergil's famous prediction, found in his foiurth 

16 



THE EMPEROR-WORSHIP 

Eclogue, clearly voices this hope: "The last age prophesied by the 
sibyl has come and the great series of ages begins anew! Justice now 
returns, Saturn reigns once more, and a new progeny is sent down 
from high heaven. O chaste Lucina, be thou propitious to the infant 
boy under whom first the iron age shall cease and the golden age over 
all the world arise. ... O child, as soon as thou shalt be able to 
read the praises of heroes and the achievements of thy sire and to 
know what virtue is, the fields shall by degrees grow yellow with 
ripening corn, blushing grapes shall hang on a rude bramble, and 
hard oaks shall drip vdth dewy honey. . . . Dear offspring of the 
gods, mighty seed of Jove, enter thy great heritage, for the time is 
now at hand. See how the world's massive dome bows before thee — 
earth and oceans and the vault of heaven!" Roman and Jew be- 
lieved that the coming deliverer, whom they, like Vergil, thought would 
speedily appear, was to be divinely gifted and that his advent was to 
be attended by marvellous portents. These miracles meant more to 
the Orientals than to the Greeks or Romans. The latter preferred 
to worship a man who manifested heroic qualities rather than a God 
merely let down from heaven. Both Greek and Oriental believed, 
however, that the uniqueness of those whom they deified came through 
birth. "Son of God" was a common term among the Greeks and 
Romans and was interpreted by them in a very literal sense. Augustus 
bore the title Divi filius, and many were the traditions current regard- 
ing his divine parentage and miraculous birth {e. g., Suetonius, Aug., 
94). Therefore the early Christian missionaries found the Grseco- 
Roman world in an expectant attitude. Their claim seemed as natural 
as that of the scientists do to the men of the twentieth century. Their 
only task was to prove their facts. It was also inevitable that mission- 
aries like Paul, who were Roman citizens, speaking to their Gentile audi- 
ences, should interpret Jesus in the terms not only of the Jewish mes- 
sianic hope but of the larger Roman world to which they appealed. 
Thus it was that the emperor-worship proved an active force in opening 
their eyes to the fact that Jesus was not a mere Jewish Messiah but 
the universal Saviour of mankind. This potent influence also carried 
many of the early Christian theologians still further and led them to 
proclaim him the Creator and Ruler of the universe, as well as the 
Friend and Saviour of sinful men. 

VII. The Mystery=Religions. The emperor-cult, which was sim- 
ply the worship of power and success, and the Greek philosophies, 

17 



THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE 

with their cold appeal to reason, never fully met the deeper spiritual 
needs of the people. What they desired was something that would 
satisfy their emotions as well as their reason and would give them the 
consciousness of fellowship with the Deity and the assurance of per- 
sonal salvation. This craving for individual protection and salvation 
is as old as the race. As soon as man recognized the presence of hos- 
tile forces in the world, he sought means whereby he might ally him- 
self with some higher power or powers that would deliver him. First 
he felt the need of deliverance from natural forces, from wild beasts 
and human foes. Larger experience opened his eyes to the malignant 
effects of sin. Therefore he went in quest of a saviour or of a way 
that would deliver him from this insidious evil. Many were the ways 
that were devised. Scientific knowledge in time provided a partial 
way of deliverance from his old foes — hostile man and beast and the 
forces of nature. Moral laws also pointed out ways in which he might 
in part anticipate the malign effects of sin; but he never ceased to feel 
the need of the help of some power outside himseff. Judaism and 
Stoicism put the greater emphasis on man's activity as the way of 
deliverance. The so-called mystery-religions put the chief stress on 
the help from without. They greatly attracted the masses because 
they claimed to make clear the way in which man might put himself 
into touch with this power from without and be assured of salvation. 
There were many types of mystery-religions in the Roman Empire, 
each with its exponents and its devotees. From Egypt came the 
mysteries of Isis; from Persia and India the Mithra cults. From 
Asia Minor came the Cybele-Attis mysteries. In Greece the Eleu- 
sinian mysteries, which were associated with the worship of Demeter, 
and the more riotous Orphic cults had long flom*ished. Each of these 
had its representatives in Rome and in many of the larger cities in 
the empire. Each had attracted to its shrine Romans, Greeks, and 
Orientals, for each had ceased to be merely a national religion or 
local cult. The rites differed widely. As a rule, the Oriental types 
were more frenzied and appealed largely to the emotions and some- 
times to the passions, but they all had certain characteristics in com- 
mon. They all claimed to bring their initiates into personal communion 
with the Deity by means of their mystic rites. They demanded of their 
followers, as a preliminary, ceremonial and, to a certain degree, moral 
purity. Thus the requirement of the candidate in the Eleusinian 
mysteries was that he should be able to speak the Greek language in- 

18 



THE MYSTERY-RELIGIONS 

telligently and *'be pure of hand." To this was later added the re- 
quirement that he should "be pure of soul." Most of the mystery- 
religions also promised to give to their initiates the consciousness of 
deliverance from sin and of reconciliation with the Deity. To this they 
added the assurance of personal immortality and of dwelling happily 
with the gods. As a result of their primitive origin, the popular mys- 
tery-religions were a strange, almost incomprehensible combination of 
sensuality and idealism, often passing over into asceticism, of sur- 
vivals of pagan sorcery and ritualism, combined with the loftiest con- 
ceptions of Greek philosophy, of crude beliefs, coming from barbarous 
ages, and divine ideals of fellowship with God and man. Notwith- 
standing their traditional limitations, they were not only tolerated by 
the emperors but received the indorsement of prominent Romans. 
Cicero declares (in De Leg., S^"*) : "In the mysteries we perceive the prin- 
ciples of real life and learn not only to live happily but we die with a 
fairer hope." By virtue of their democracy and their appeal to uni- 
versal human needs the mystery-religions proved Christianity's strong- 
est competitor in the first century. At the same time, like Judaism 
and the Greek philosophies and even the emperor-worship, they did 
much to prepare the minds of men for the reception of Christianity. 
As was inevitable, when competition was so close and constant and 
when there was so much in them that was essentially good, they exerted 
a powerful influence upon Christianity, as is shown, for example, not 
only in the language but also in the thought of Paul and in the rites 
which were ultimately adopted by the Christian church. 

VIII. The Religious and Social Needs of the Masses in the 
Roman Empire. Christianity in the first century spoke to a needy 
world. Rome had done much to promote the welfare of the masses, 
but it could not satisfy the deeper cravings of the individual. Men 
crave companionship. The many guilds and fraternities which flour- 
ished throughout the empire revealed this need. They also longed 
for a way of personal as well as social salvation. Amidst the wreck- 
age of the old mythologies they longed for a worthy object of personal 
belief and devotion. The crimes and their consequences, which del- 
uged and blackened society and the life of the individual, had made 
vividly clear the need of a faith that would unite religion and morals. 
The disastrous distinctions between slave and freedmen and irre- 
sponsible noble had sent the thinkers of the world in quest of a unifying 
faith that would bind all men and classes together. Even in imperial 

19 



THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF THE AGE 

Rome the great crying need was for democracy and fellowship in re- 
ligion, for a faith that would make all men brothers and happy and 
hopeful in the common service of a common Lord and Master. In 
that ancient world, with its hundreds of rival cults, Christianity 
emerged triumphant because it met these universal needs. 



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PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY IN PALES- 
TINE AND SYRIA 



§ CXLVI. THE ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM CHRISTIAN 
COMMUNITY 

Now when the disciples entered Jerusalem they went Return 
to the upper room where they were in the habit of staying. §fs!^® 
There were Peter, John, James, Andrew, PhiUp and Thomas, gp^^s 
Bartholomew and Matliew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jem- 
Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. All these (acS 
men continued with one mind in earnest prayer, together »'''*) 
with the women, with Mary the mother of Jesus and his 
brothers. 

Now during those days Peter, standing up in the midst of choice 
the brothers— there was a crowd of about one hundred and ^^^ 
twenty persons all together— said, Brothers, it is necessary cesser 
that ie scripture be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke judas 
beforehand by the mouth of David in regard to Judas, who J^^fs. 
acted as guide to those who seized Jesus. For it is written '° '') 
in the Book of Psalms 

Desolate be his habitation, 
And may no one dwell in it; 
also 

Let another man take over his office. 

Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have been 
associated with us, one should join us as a witness to 
his resurrection. So they put forward two men, Joseph, 
called Barsabbas (sumamed Justus), and Matthias. And 
they prayed, O Lord, who knowest well the hearts of all, do 
thou show clearly which of these two men thou hast chosen 
to take the place in this apostoUc ministry from which Judas, 
through transgression, fell away, in order to go to his own 

21 



ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY 

place. Then they cast lots for them and the lot fell upon 
Matthias, who was assigned the place with the eleven apos- 
tles. 
The Now when the day of Pentecost came, they were all to- 

tuai"^ gether, when suddenly there came a soimd from heaven 
^^ like a violent rushing blast of wind which filled the whole 
tloiT house where they were seated. And they were all filled 
dayof with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other 
P^^te- tongues as the Spirit enabled them to express themselves. 
^2.4. Now when this soimd was heard the multitude gathered; 
**' '^' "^ and they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one an- 
other. What can it mean? But some others said sneeringly, 
They are brimful of new wine ! 
Peters But Peter stood up along with the eleven, and raising his 
nation voice addressed them; Men of Judea and residents of 
of the Jerusalem, let each of you understand this and Usten at- 
ofthe tentively to what I say: these men are not drunk as you 
^es suppose, for it is only nine in the morning! Rather this is 
(M-21) what was predicted by the prophet Joel: 

And it shall be in the last days, saith God, 
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, 
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 
And your young men shall see visions. 
And your old men shall dream dreams. 
And yea, even upon slaves and slave-girls 
In those days I will pour out my Spirit, 
And they shall prophesy. 

And I will display wonders in the heavens above, 
And signs on the earth below. 
Blood, fire, and vapor of smoke; 
The sun shall be changed into darkness, 
And the moon into blood. 

Before the great, illustrious day of the Lord comes. 
And every one who calls upon the name of the Lord 
shall be saved. 

jesua' Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a 

(M?M^ man accredited to you by God through miracles, wonders, 

and signs which God performed by him in your midst, as 

22 



resur- 
rection 



JESUS' DEATH AND RESURRECTION 

you yourselves know, this Jesus, delivered up in accor- 
dance with God's settled purpose and foreknowledge, you by 
the hand of wicked men nailed to the cross and slew. 

But God raised him to life by checking the pangs of death His 
because it was not possible for him to be held by death 
For David says of him: (^-") 

I saw the Lord constantly before me. 

For he is at my right hand lest I be shaken. 

For this reason my heart is glad and my tongue exults, 

My flesh also shall rest in hope. 

Because thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave, 

Nor let thy holy one suffer decay. 

Thou hast made known to me the ways of life, 

Thou wilt fOl me with gladness in thy presence. 

Brothers, I can speak freely to you about the patriarch 
David : he died and was buried and his tomb is with us to 
this day. Being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him that he would seat one of his descen- 
dants on his throne, he spoke with prophetic foresight of 
the resurrection of the Christ when he said that he was 
not left forsaken in the grave nor did his flesh suffer decay. 
This Jesus God raised to life as we all can bear witness. 

Exalted then by God's right hand, and having received His ex- 
from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, he hath poured tSS" 
on us this which you now see and hear. For it was not David *« a 
who ascended to heaven, but David himself says, tlon'of 

diviae 
author- 

The Lord said to my Lord, * Sit at my right hand, i^y 
Until I put your enemies under your feet.' 



(33-36) 



Therefore let all the house of Israel know beyond doubt that 
God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this very Jesus 
whom you have crucified. 

Now when they heard this they were stimg to the heart; effect 
they said to Peter and the rest of the apostles. Brothers, peters 
what are we to do? And Peter replied. Repent and be ^f^ 
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, in ms 
order that your sins may be put away; then you will receive ("sl^f""^ 

23 



The 



ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY 

the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is intended for 
you and for your children and for all who are far off, for as 
many as the Lord our God may call to himself. And with 
many more appeals he solemnly warned and entreated them, 
saying, Save yourselves from this crooked generation! So 
those who accepted what he said were baptized and on 
that day about tiiree thousand souls were added to them. 

I. The Return of the Disciples to Jerusalem. "Jesus lives 
and reigns on high" is the triumphant note with which the Gospels 
end and the history of the ApostoUc Age begins. However the under- 
lying historical facts may be conceived or psychologically interpreted 
in the light of the widely varying records, the vivid consciousness of 
Jesus' presence is one of the great impelling forces throughout the 
apostolic period. At every point this consciousness explains what is 
otherwise inexplicable. It is the only sufficient answer to the question 
of why Jesus' disciples, who according to the oldest gospel record {cf. 
V, 298, 304) had fled to Galilee, terrified and heart-broken, suddenly 
returned, accompanied by over a hundred of his followers, to take up 
their permanent abode in Jerusalem. Their homes, their friends, and 
their occupations were all in Galilee; while Jerusalem was the centre 
of that Judaism which had rejected their Master and the home of the 
Pharisees who had hunted him out of Galilee. Here the Sadducean 
leaders, whose intrigues had placed him on the cross, ruled all but 
supreme. In returning to this city of tragic memories the followers of 
the crucified Nazarene had reason to expect only peniuy, peril, and 
persecution. Luke gives no direct explanation of their heroic action, 
for he follows the later traditions which overlook the humiliating fact 
that they had at first fled. Many have been the explanations offered 
by modern historians; but three closely related reasons appear to have 
influenced the disciples to take this perilous but important step. The 
first and chief reason was their absolute conviction that their Master 
was still living and in their midst. Paul declares that Jesus appeared 
not only to Peter and the Eleven but also to five hundred disci- 
ples. This statement is supported by the important incidental testi- 
mony of Acts 1^. Joseph and Matthias, in the days preceding the 
memorable feast of Pentecost, are selected as apparently only two of 
the many who were witnesses of Jesus' resurrection, and Stephen and 
Paul appear to be the last to share these visions. No fear of danger 
could deter men into whose eyes the light of heaven had shone from 

24 



RETURN OF THE DISCIPLES TO JERUSALEM 

proclaiming that fact at the centre of their nation's life. These visions 
also confirmed them in the growing conviction that Jesus was beyond 
doubt the Messiah or Christ for which their race had long waited. 
Henceforth they unhesitatingly interpreted every utterance of Old 
Testament prophet, priest, or psalmist, which seemed to look forward 
to the work of the Messiah, as clear predictions of their Master and of 
the memorable era in which they were living. 

These marvellous experiences also seemed to them to confirm the 
popular Jewish apocalyptic beliefs, already strong in their minds, that 
Jesus as Messiah would soon come again with supernatural power to 
estabHsh his rule on earth. The familiar prophecy of Malachi 3^: 
**The Lord whom ye seek will suddenly come to his temple," undoubt- 
edly seemed to them a direct divine promise pointing them the way 
to Jerusalem. It also explains most naturally why they spent so much 
time in those early days in the temple precincts and why the behef in 
the second coming of Jesus at first occupied a central place in their 
thought and life. It was easy for men who had just had visions of 
their risen and glorified Master to believe that he might at any moment 
appear in the heavens to proclaim and establish his visible kingdom 
on earth and to forget that he had declared that the Kingdom of God 
was not to come with observation but that it is within the hearts of his 
followers (Luke 17^^). 

A third and powerful motive impelling the disciples to go back to 
Jerusalem was their Master's own experience and example. His min- 
istry had made tragically clear the limitations of the Galilean field. 
His supreme courage and determination in going up to Jerusalem, even 
though well aware of the deadly perils that lurked there, were at last 
appreciated by his disciples in their true perspective. Now his task was 
theirs. Strait though the way be, they felt compelled to walk it. 
Only at Jerusalem could they touch the heart of their nation and bear 
witness most effectually to the work, the teachings, and the exaltation 
of their Master. Following his example, as at Capernaum, they aimed 
to establish a perfect brotherhood or community which would exem- 
plify the principles of life that he had laid down and furnish the leaven 
needed to transform their nation. Thus their vision of their risen 
Master and the duty of announcing it to their nation, their expectation 
that he would speedily appear in the temple to inaugurate his mes- 
sianic rule, and their obligation to establish at the historic place chosen 
by Jesus himself a miniature kingdom of God on earth were forces 
which drew his followers irresistibly to Jerusalem. 

25 



ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY 

II. The Choice of a Successor to Judas. The consciousness of 
a great mission was evidently strong in the minds of the disciples who 
rallied at Jerusalem within less than a month and a half after Jesus' 
crucifixion. A common purpose united them: it was to make clear 
to all members of their race that he was indeed the promised Messiah 
and that his messiahship had been attested not merely by his wondrous 
words and deeds while on earth but by the repeated visions of him as 
their risen and glorified Lord. This was evidently the reason why 
they took steps to fill at once the place left vacant in the ranks of the 
Twelve by the renegade Judas, who, the variant traditions preserved 
in Matthew and Acts declare, had meantime met with a violent death. 
As far as the disciples were concerned, he had forfeited his life in the 
unique brotherhood the moment he betrayed their Master. The de- 
mand now was for one who had not only associated personally with 
Jesus, and so was familiar with his words and deeds, but was also a 
witness to his resurrection. This requirement also suggests the prim- 
itive definition of the term apostle, which was later applied to cer- 
tain missionaries, like Paul, who were not included in the Twelve. 
Peter's speech on this occasion, as recorded in Acts, makes pathetically 
clear the perplexity of the disciples, suddenly deprived of the author- 
itative leadership of their Master, and the simple faith with which in 
their extremity they turned to the Old Testament scriptures for gui- 
dance. Any passage, which on its surface seemed to throw light on 
their present problems, quite regardless of its original meaning or ap- 
plication, was accepted as a definite guide or prediction. For example, 
in the original of Peter's first quotation (from Psalms 69^), the psalmist 
evidently had his many enemies in mind and prayed that their habita- 
tion might be desolate; but to adapt it to the later situation their is 
changed to his in Acts 1^°. 

Matthias, who was chosen by lot to fill the ranks of the Twelve, 
shares the complete obscurity that has engulfed a majority of the dis- 
ciples who were most closely associated with Jesus. One questions 
whether the surprising paucity of references to them in early Christian 
literature is purely accidental. As a whole, the men to whom Jesus 
intrusted his priceless teachings and example do not appear to have 
been gifted with marked ability. With the exception of Peter they 
were men of one talent. Peter's strength consisted in a simple straight- 
forwardness and zeal rather than irv statesmansliip or insight. With 
the exception of Peter, the leading apostles, Philip, Stephen, Barnabas, 
Silas, ApoUos, and Paul, were enlisted entirely outside the ranks of the 

26 



CHOICE OF A SUCCESSOR TO JUDAS 

Twelve. The ultimate success of Jesus' work came not from the 
ability of his immediate followers but from the invincible power of 
his personality and teachings. Moreover, "the advance was not the 
residt of design, but of the inherent universality of the new religion. 
It passed on from race to race by channels of its own making, and 
broke, with a Uving power, through every restriction which men had 
placed upon it." 

It is also important to note that among the first to rally at Jerusalem 
were Mary the mother of Jesus and his brothers. Paul alone of all the 
New Testament writers gives any hint as to how the immediate mem- 
bers of Jesus' family were transformed into devoted followers in the few 
brief days that intervened between his death and the gathering of his 
disciples at Jerusalem. Paul in his account of the resurrection appear- 
ances states (I Cor. 15^"^) that after "Jesus had appeared to Peter, to 
the Twelve, and to upward of five hundred Christian brothers at once, 
he appeared to James." This James was beyond reasonable doubt the 
brother of Jesus who later became the head of the Jerusalem church. 
The evident importance that Paul attributes to James's vision is sig- 
nificant. The order perhaps implies a certain causal relation between 
the visions of the older disciples and that which later came to James. 
In the absence of detailed records it is yet possible to supply the missing 
links. Up to the time of Jesus' crucifixion James did not believe that 
his brother was the promised Messiah. Therefore his conversion and 
absolute conviction that Jesus was the fulfilment of Israel's hopes and 
that the grave could not hold him must have made a profound impres- 
sion on the other members of his family. Their presence among the 
disciples who gathered at Jerusalem indicates that at last even those 
of his own household appreciated his uniqueness. 

III. The Story of the Day of Pentecost. Effects point back 
unmistakably to corresponding causes. The later history of Chris- 
tianity is in itself convincing evidence that the day of Pentecost was 
the occasion of a tremendous spiritual experience. The memory of 
Jesus' words, of his unquenchable hope, and of his calmness in the 
presence of death were all fresh in the minds of the multitudes. Time 
and meditation had given them a perspective that enabled them to 
appreciate him as never before. News of the remarkable experiences 
that had come to his disciples had spread already among the thronging 
pilgrims. Among the disciples themselves the first dejection had been 
followed by a joyous reaction characterized by intense religious emo- 
tion. On the day of Pentecost this pent-up feeling broke out into an 

27 



ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY 

irresistible wave of spiritual enthusiasm that marked the beginning of 
the world-wide Christian missionary movement. The story in Acts 2 
represents the first-century memory and interpretation of this event. 
Like most of the biblical narratives, which record the epoch-making 
moments in the development of human faith, the original account 
has apparently been supplemented by later additions intended to 
emphasize its divine character and significance. 

Fortunately it bears on its face the evidences of its growth, so that 
it is possible to distinguish the original historical nucleus which lies 
back of it. The jeers of the bystanders who heard the cries of the 
assembled disciples, "They are brimful of new wine!" suggest that 
what prompted their criticism was some form of religious ecstasy rather 
than coherent addresses delivered in various languages. This inference 
regarding the historical fact underlying the story of Pentecost is con- 
firmed by Peter's speech, in which he explains the remarkable behavior 
of the disciples as a fulfilment of the prediction of the prophet Joel in 
which there is no suggestion of speaking in foreign languages. It is 
clear also in the latter part of the narrative that what converted the 
multitudes was not miracles nor divine signs but Peter's calm, logical, 
convincing sermon. 

In its present form three elements are traceable which apparently 
were not found in the original account of the event: (1) The sound from 
heaven like a violent rushing blast of wind which filled the whole house 
where the disciples were seated; (2) the tongues as of fire which ap- 
peared distributed among them with one resting upon the head of each; 
and (3) their speaking with foreign tongues so that their words were 
clearly intelligible to the pilgrims present from the various lands of 
the dispersion. The Bible and contemporary Jewish literature contain 
certain suggestive analogies which go far to explain the presence of 
these secondary elements in this nativity story of the Christian church. 
The subsequent narrative of Acts 2 implies that the sound like a violent 
rushing blast of wind, which filled the whole house, was the mingled 
ecstatic shouts and cries of the disciples upon whose waiting hearts 
the divine Spirit from heaven had breathed. The same dramatic 
mode of description recurs in 4^^ In the mind of the one who has given 
us this narrative in its present form, the analogies between the giving 
of the law at Sinai and the pouring out of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost 
were very close. In the late priestly account of the scene at Sinai we 
read: "As Moses came down from the mount he did not know that the 
skin of his face was emitting rays of light because Jehovah had been 

28 



STORY OF THE DAY OF PENTECOST 

speaking with him" (Ex. M"^^). Just as the divine light shining in 
the face of Jesus at his transfiguration seemed to transfuse and trans- 
form all about him, so Acts 2 suggests that the joy and courage which 
filled the faces of the disciples appeared to rest like a divine radiance 
upon them. The statement that the disciples spoke in foreign tongues 
was either part of the Christian tradition or else is due to the editor's 
desire to picture the event in keeping with its larger historic signif- 
icance. The story is apparently a reflection of the current rabbinical 
tradition of the giving of the law at Sinai, which states that the voice 
of God proclaimed the law in the seventy different languages that 
represented all the then known races of the earth. Back of this late 
account of the pentecostal experience lies the profound fact that the 
language of the emotions is intelligible alike to men of all races and 
tongues. Furthermore, Christianity from the first appealed even 
more strongly to the Jews of the dispersion — "Parthians, Medes, and 
Elamites" — ^who had returned as pilgrims to Jerusalem than to those 
of Palestine. It was this universal quality in Christianity that most 
interested the author of Acts 1-15 and he has dramatically set it 
forth at the beginning of his history. 

IV. The Coming of the Spirit. Interpreting the secondary ele- 
ments according to their deeper spiritual significance, the historical 
nucleus that remains in the story of Acts 2 furnishes a remarkably 
vivid and satisfying record of the epoch-making experience that came 
to the Christian community at Pentecost. It does not represent the 
beginning of the Christian church, for that existed at least in germ 
from the moment that the disciples reassembled at Jerusalem. Its 
separation from Judaism and its independent existence still lay in the 
future. The memorable day of Pentecost marked for the Christian 
community a new consciousness of direct divine guidance. It also 
demonstrated the universality and potency of the gospel of Jesus. 

Modern religious psychology aids in the interpretation of this 
dramatic story. The feast of Pentecost had doubtless brought to 
Jerusalem many followers and sympathetic hearers of Jesus. The re- 
telling of the visions which many of them had had of the risen Christ 
undoubtedly strengthened the faith and kindled the religious en- 
thusiasm of all. The feast of Pentecost also recalled the never-to-be- 
forgotten events of the feast of the Passover only fifty days before. 
These national feasts during Jesus' ministry had offered rare opportu- 
nity for the presentation of his teachings, and the influence of the ex- 
ample of their Master on this memorable occasion must have been 

29 



ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY 

strongly felt by his disciples. It was in these circumstances that a 
divine enthusiasm seized them — an enthusiasm which henceforth for a 
generation at least characterized the life of the various Christian com- 
munities scattered throughout the Roman world. Paul has vividly 
described its manifestations in I Corinthians 14. He found it necessary 
at a later period to urge the Corinthian Christians, when the impulse 
seized them to speak with tongues, to "let two or at the most three speak 
at one time. Also to let some one interpret. If there is no interpreter, 
let the speaker keep quiet in church and speak to himself and God." 
He also sought to guard the early Christians from the charge which 
was originally flung at them by the sneering Jewish multitudes at Jeru- 
salem, when he declared that "if at a gathering of the whole church 
everybody speaks with tongues, and if outsiders and unbelievers come 
in, will they not say, 'You are insane' ? " The phenomenon was a 
familiar one in the ancient Oriental world. Saul, after his memorable 
interview with Samuel, falling in with a group of the sons of the 
prophets, was seized by the same divine enthusiasm. It appears to 
have been exceedingly common in the primitive guilds of the prophets. 
It is not without close analogies in the revivalistic services of modern 
times. Back of this experience lies the firmly established Jewish 
belief that the Spirit of God the Holy One, or, as it is designated in 
later Christian times, the Holy Spirit, took possession of certain men 
and women of open minds and directed their thoughts, their feelings, 
their words, and their very acts. Practically every extraordinary- 
action or event not explained by ordinary causes was attributed to 
this direct divine influence. Jesus himself declared that by the Spirit 
of God he was able to perform miracles, and he appears to have quietly 
assumed that all that he did and accomplished was by means of the 
same divine power working through him. The Spirit of God in He- 
brew and early Christian thought was liis divine power or personality, 
active in nature, in human history, or working through the minds, the 
feelings, and the natures of his devoted foUowers. The great revival- 
istic experience at Pentecost was, therefore, not the first in Israel's 
history. The unique element appears to have been the intensity with 
which it affected the assembled disciples, and the fact that practically 
all of them felt its mysterious influence. It was not strange that the 
simple followers of Jesus lacked the vocabulary and articulate means of 
expressing the new and profound emotions of joy and gratitude and 
loyalty which filled their souls, and that they voiced them in inarticu- 
late cries which, when heard from afar, gave the impression of a mighty, 

30 



THE COMING OP THE SPIETT 

rushing wind, and evoked from bystanders the sneering words: ''These 
men are brimful of new wine ! " 

V. Peter's Memorable Sermon. The amazement and sneers of 
the multitude gave Peter, the spokesman of the disciples, his oppor- 
tunity. Throughout his brief address, which reflects the beliefs and 
ideas which were in the forefront at the beginning rather than at the 
end of the Apostolic Age, when the book of Acts was written, there run 
two parallel lines of argument and evidence. The one is drawn from 
Old Testament prophecy; the other is based on the actual experience 
of Peter and of the disciples whom he represented. Speaking to Jews, 
he starts from the point of view of the Old Testament and singles out 
the memorable prediction of the outpouring of Jehovah's Spirit upon 
all classes in the nation, which is found in Joel 2'^'^-^^^. He follows the 
Greek translation, quoting rather freely and supplying the words ''last 
days" in order to make complete the application of the ancient pre- 
diction to the events of the day of Pentecost. The latter part of the 
quotation shows how directly the disciples from the first drew their 
apocalyptic hopes from these Old Testament predictions. Then fol- 
lows a remarkably vigorous epitome of Jesus' life and death condensed 
into one sentence. Peter's statement, ''was delivered up in accordance 
with God's settled purpose and foreknowledge," implies that, as at 
later times, he had in mind the familiar portrait of the suffering servant 
of Jehovah in Isaiah 53. He, in common with the Jewish and Christian 
writers of his age, regarded David as the author of all the Psalms. 
In his quotation from Psalm 16^*^^, and in his interpretation of the 
promise, 

Thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave. 
Nor let thy holy one see corruption, 

the logical application depends not only upon the tradition of Davidic 
authorship, but also upon the Greek version, which he follows and 
which differs widely from the Hebrew: 

Thou wilt not forsake me to Sheol, 

Nor suffer thy faithful one to see the grave. 

Similarly the apostle, in keeping with the current rabbinical methods 
of Old Testament interpretation, cites the first verse of Psalm 110 
(which is probably a Maccabean poem originally connected with 

31 



ORIGIN OF THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY 

Simon the Hasmonean) as a prediction of Jesus' resurrection. In the 
light of our modern historical methods of interpretation the logic may 
be faulty, but that does not invalidate Peter's underlying argument, 
for this is but the way in which he sought to interpret his own spiritual 
experience and that of his fellow disciples. While Jesus was wdth 
them they had felt the divine inspiration of his personality and teach- 
ings. Even when death had taken him from them, the vi^/id conscious- 
ness of that same personality and presence had impelled them to come 
up to Jerusalem and face persecution. Now, not only in their own 
individual experiences but in a most startling and unmistakable manner 
they and the multitude which they addressed had seen with their own 
eyes the evidences of the work of the Spirit of God. 

To this argument of fact Peter added a strong appeal to the multi- 
tude: "Repent and be baptized every one of you," that "you may then 
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Contrition, confession, and moral 
cleansing — these are the preliminary steps declared to be absolutely 
essential by the early prophets and John the Baptist, as well as by 
Jesus and his apostles, if the individual would enter into intimate 
spiritual relations with God. In the preaching of Peter "the name of 
Jesus," which stands for his character, his spirit, and his teachings, 
has become that which inspires contrition and public confession and 
gives the assurance of moral cleansing and the abounding joy and 
spiritual exaltation that made the day of Pentecost forever memorable. 
It also explains why a large number, possibly somewhat magnified, were 
then added to the Christian brotherhood. 

VI. The Faith of the Early Christian Believers. Peter's 
speech, supplemented by those which follow in Acts, reveals the chief 
elements in the faith of the early Christian believers. Its fixed foun- 
dation was their personal acquaintance and association mth Jesus 
during his life on earth and the teachings, the ideals, and the spirit 
with which he had filled their minds. This is the historical corner- 
stone upon which Christianity rests and without which it would be, 
like most other religions, but a system of philosophical speculations or 
a body of ethical teachings. The faith of the early believers was in- 
evitably and radically moulded by the current hopes of their race and 
the predictions of their prophets. It had been so even while Jesus was 
with them to interpret this ancient heritage; it was naturally ever 
more so when they ceased to hear his audible voice. All the great 
early teachers of their race had taught them that their varied experi- 
ences as a nation were but a preparation for a glorious destiny that 

32 



BELIEF OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS 

awaited them and that a Messiah, chosen and empowered by God, was 
to be the chief agent in realizing this divine purpose and in inaugurating 
the new era in human history. Naturally and rightly they identified 
Jesus as the promised Messiah or Christ. This identification at once 
broadened their conception of the significance of his personality and 
work. Hitherto they had known him simply as their personal teacher 
and friend and master; now the historic term Messiah, with its wealth 
of associations, emphasized his relation to their race and to other races. 
At the same time the teachings of Jesus, as well as their own interpre- 
tation of their ancient scriptures, led them to the conclusion that they, 
the disciples of the Nazarene, were the faithful remnant, the true 
Israel. Hence they were the heirs of all the Old Testament promises. 
Not only were they to have a central place in the new and divine 
order, that they believed would speedily and miraculously be estab- 
lished, but they had an all-important role in preparing the way for its 
consummation. All their inherited beliefs and their past and present 
experiences focused their attention upon Jesus as the central figure 
in the new divine order. Now they saw him through their spiritual 
vision, living and exalted, not identical with God but commissioned by 
him to estabhsh this new order. Hence they called him not only 
Messiah but also Lord. "Jesus is Lord" was the baptismal formula of 
the early Christian church. Paul declares in I Corinthians 8^: "For us 
there is one Lord, Jesus Christ." On the lips of the early believers the 
term Lord had a far more personal and intimate meaning than Messiah 
or Christ. It corresponded to the older term Master, interpreted in the 
light of the larger perspective now attained by his disciples. It sug- 
gested a broader yet closer personal relation between him and his de- 
voted followers. It was a term not only of adoration but of devotion 
and fealty. It meant the acceptance of his teachings and ideals as the 
absolute rule of life and his Spirit as the ever-present interpreter and 
guide. The first great task, therefore, of his followers was, as Peter 
declares, to "let all the house of Israel know beyond doubt that God 
hath made him both Lord and Christ." 



33 



§cxLvn. the;:LIfe of the primitive christian 

COMMUNITY 

Intro- The believers all kept together and shared all things with 
tion: one another ; and they would sell their possessions and goods 
^auy^ and distribute the proceeds to all according as each man 
the be- had need. Daily with one accord they resorted to the 
^Act? temple and broke bread in their own homes. They ate their 
2"-*o food with gladness and single-heartedness, praising God, 
and were well regarded by all the people. The Lord also 
added daily to their number those who were being saved. 
The Now Peter and John were going up to the temple for the 

^^^^ hour of prayer at three in the afternoon, when a certain 
^^\^ man who had been lame from birth was carried past, whom 
(31^1^^ they used to lay daily at what is called the Beautiful Gate 
of the temple to ask alms from those who entered the tem- 
ple. When he saw that Peter and John were about to 
enter the temple, he asked them for alms. But Peter 
looked at him intently, as did John also, and said to him, 
Look at us. And when he gave heed to them, expecting 
to receive something from them, Peter said, I have neither 
silver nor gold but what I have I give to you. In the name 
of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk ! Then seizing him by 
the right hand he raised him up. Instantly his feet and 
ankles became strong and he leaped upright and walked 
about, and went with them into the temple, walking, leap- 
ing, and praising God. 
Effect And all the people saw him walking about and praising 
tf°^ God. And when they recognized that this was the man 
people who used to sit and beg at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, 
they were filled with awe and amazement at what had be- 
fallen him. And while he still clung to Peter and John, all 
the people rushed awe-struck to them in what was called 
Solomon*s Porch. 
Peter's But wheu Peter saw this he spoke to the people: Men 
S?i?n of Israel, why are you filled with awe at this ? Or why do 
of the you stare at us as if we had made him walk by any power 
™)^ ^ or piety of our own? The God of Abraham and the God 
of Isaac and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, 

34 



PETER'S EXPLANATION OF THE MIRACLE 

hath glorified Jesus his servant, whom you delivered up 
and disowned before Pilate, even though Pilate had de- 
cided to release him. But you disowned the Holy and 
Just One, and you asked as a favor the release of a man 
who was a murderer; but the leader in the way of life you 
put to death. But God raised him from the dead, as we 
ourselves can bear witness. Moreover, through faith in 
his name, his name has given strength to this man whom 
you see and know ; and it is the faith which he inspires that 
has made this man sound and strong in the presence of 
you all. 

Now I know, brothers, that you have acted in ignorance. Appeal 
as have also your rulers ; but it is in this way that God hath ^opfe 
fulfilled the promises which he made by the mouth of the *« ^^^ 
prophets that his Christ would suffer. Repent therefore and^^ 
and turn that your sins may be blotted out, in order that jS* 
times of revival may come from the Lord, and that he may ("'') 
send to you Jesus the Christ, appointed beforehand, whom 
heaven must receive until the times of the restoration of 
which God hath spoken from of old by the lips of his holy 
prophets. Moses indeed said, * The Lord our God wiU 
raise up a prophet for you from among your brothers, as he 
raised me. You must Hsten to whatever he may say to 
you; any soul that will not listen to this prophet shall be 
utterly destroyed from among the people.' Yea, all the 
prophets who have spoken since Samuel and his succes- 
sors have also announced these days. You indeed are the 
sons of the prophets and of the covenant which God made 
with your fathers when he said to Abraham, *A11 the fam- 
ines of the earth shall be blessed through your offspring.' 
It was for you first that God raised up his servant and sent 
him to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked 
deeds. 

While they were speaking to the people, the priests and Arrest 
the commander of the temple and the Sadducees came upon apo^^ 
them, being greatly displeased because they taught the ^^^^. 
people and proclaimed in the case of Jesus the resurrection 
from the dead. 

The next morning a meeting was held in Jerusalem of 
their rulers, elders, and scribes, at which were the high 

35 



THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 

Their priest Annas, Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and all the mem- 
Sd bers of the high priest^s family. Placing the apostles in 
defense their midst, they inquired, By what power and in whose 
name have you done this? Then Peter, filled with the 
Holy Spirit, said to them: Rulers of the people and elders 
of Israel, if we are being examined to-day for a good act 
done to a man helplessly lame, as to how this man was 
cured, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, 
that through the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom 
you crucified but whom God hath raised from the dead- 
through that name this man stands before you perfectly 
whole. This Jesus is the stone despised by you builders 
which has become the head of the comer. And in none 
other is there salvation : for neither is there any other name 
imder heaven, that has been given among men, through 
which we may be saved. 
Re- Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John 

o?the 2md perceived that they were uncultured and illiterate men, 
apos- they were astonished; they also recognized that they had 
(if.w.2i. been companions with Jesus. But, seeing the man who 
^^ had been healed standing beside them, they had nothing 
to say in reply. But when they had threatened them stiU 
further, they let them go, being unable to find any way of 
punishing them on account of the people, for everybody was 
glorifying God over what had happened; for the man was 
over forty years of age on whom this miracle of healing had 
been performed. 
Prayer Now, wheu they were released, the disciples went to 
cfhri?- their friends and reported what the high priest and elders 
tian had said. And on hearing this, these all lifted up their 
S^ty voices to God and said, O Sovereign Lord, thou art he who 
cmir- made heaven and earth and sea and all that in them is, 
age^ 29 who said to our fathers by the Holy Spirit through the 
30) ■ ' mouth of David thy servant: 

* Why did the Gentiles rage. 
And the peoples form futile plans? 
The kings of the earth set themselves in array, 
And the rulers assemble together 
Against the Lord and his Christ.' 
36 



AN EARLY CHRISTIAN PRAYER 

And now, O Lord, consider their threats and grant that thy 
servants may with all fearlessness speak thy word, when 
thy hand is stretched out to heal and to perform miracles 
and wonders by the name of thy holy servant Jesus. 

And while they were praying the place where they were The 
was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and fj^lp 
continued speaking the word of God fearlessly. And the ("•") 
apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the 
Lord Jesus with great power, and much grace was upon 
them all. 

Now in the multitude of the believers there was but one Fra- 
heart and soul; not one of them called any of the things gpSt* 
which he possessed his personal property, but they shared g^^e 
all they had with one another. There was not a needy per- tian^ 
son among them, for those who owned land or houses sold SSity 
them and brought the proceeds of the things which were g''*- 
sold and laid them at the apostles' feet. It was then dis- 
tributed to every one according as each' individual had need. 
Thus Joseph, who was sumamed by the apostles Barnabas 
or, as it may be interpreted, * Son of encouragement,* a 
Levite, a native of Cjrprus, sold a farm belonging to him 
and brought the money and placed it at the apostles' feet. 

But a certain man by the name of Ananias who, with his pecep- 
wif e Sapphira, had sold some property, with her connivance fS-^^ 
kept back part of the price and brought only a part of it to nias 
lay at the apostles' feet. Ananias, said Peter, why has ISp- 
Satan filled your heart that you should try to deceive the ^5^^^ 
Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land? 
While the land remained unsold was it not your own? And 
even after it was sold was it not at your disposal? How 
is it that you have planned this thing in your heart? You 
have not lied to man but to God. When Ananias heard 
these words he fell down and expired ; and great fear came 
upon all who heard it. And the younger men arose, wrapped 
up the body, and carried it away to be buried. After an 
interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing 
what had taken place. Tell me, said Peter to her, did you 
sell the land for such and such a sum? Yes, she said, that 
was the sum. But Peter said to her. How was it that you 
two could agree together to test the Lord's Spirit? Behold 

37 



(12-16) 



THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 

the footsteps of those who have buried your husband! 
They are at the door and will carry you out ! Instantly she 
fell down at his feet and expired. And the young men 
came in and foxmd her dead, and they carried her out and 
buried her beside her husband. And great awe came over 
the whole church and over all who heard about these things. 
Effect Many miracles and wonders were performed among ttie 
the°^ people by the apostles, and they were all with one accord 
people in Solomon's Porch. But, although the people extolled 
them, none of the rest of the people dared join them. But 
instead multitudes of both men and women who believed 
in the Lord were brought in, so that they even carried in- 
vaHds out into the streets and laid them on beds and 
mattresses, that when Peter passed, his shadow at least 
might fall on some one of them. Crowds also gathered 
from the towns about Jerusalem, bringing invalids and peo- 
ple troubled with imclean spirits; and all of them were 
healed. 

I. The Historical Record. The occasional secondary passages in 
this section but serve to bring out by contrast the exact historical 
character of the older source here quoted. The general statements 
regarding the Hfe of the Christian community, found in the closing 
verses of Acts 2, are probably from Luke's own pen. Verse ^^ in its 
assertion that "they shared all that they had with one another," an- 
ticipates the detailed statement of 4^2_5i4 ^j^^ ^^ g^ certain extent is at 
variance with the testimony of this older and fuller source. The 
fourth verse of chapter 4, with its statement that the Christian com- 
munity numbered about five thousand, is probably also an editorial 
addition, for it breaks the close connection between ^ and ^. Verses 
15-20 Qf lY^Q same chapter appear to be an expansional duplicate of 
12-14, 21, 22^ 'pjjg reason for the hberation of the apostles given in ^i is 
the high priest's fear of a popular uprising, but in ^^"^^ they are repre- 
sented as admitting the validity of the miracle which had been 
performed in the temple. Verses ^^ and ^^ also break the close connec- 
tion between ^^ and ^^, and have all the characteristics of an explana- 
tory clause. Otherwise the material in this section appears to have 
been taken from the early Jerusalem-Caesarean source. It is of the 
greatest historical value in portraying not only the life of the primitive 
Christian community but also the faith of the early disciples, while 

38 



THE HISTORICAL RECORD 

they still stood under the du-ect influence of Jesus* work and teach- 
ings and had not been fundamentally influenced by Paul's dominating 
ideas. 

II. The Healing of the Lame Beggar. The book of Acts as- 
cribes only three definite miracles of healing to the twelve disciples, and 
each of these is associated with the name of Peter. The gospel nar- 
ratives state that miracles of healing were performed by the disciples 
during Jesus' lifetime, but furnish no details beyond recording the case 
of the epileptic (Mark 9^^"^^) which had baffled them. Jesus himself 
appears to have anticipated that they would carry on his work of heal- 
ing. The Fourth Gospel has expressed this conviction in the familiar 
passage: "He who believes on me also shall do the works that I do, and 
greater works than these shall he do" (John 14^^). The account of 
Peter's healing of the lame man in the temple is given in great detail. 
The situation suggests the experiences that reinforced the man's faith. 
Being a frequent visitor to the temple, he must have often heard the 
teachings and observed the acts of healing performed by Jesus. Also 
the news of the great spiritual experience which came to the disciples 
on the day of Pentecost must have filled Jerusalem. The conditions 
therefore were exceedingly favorable for a startling act of healing. 
The incident is in every respect parallel to many of the well-authen- 
ticated gospel miracles, except that Peter acted simply as the agent 
working in the name of Jesus. There is every reason for regarding 
the narrative as historical. The event was also of great importance in 
extending the work of the disciples. It was the credential required by 
the masses to prove by the testimony of their eyes that the Crucified 
One still lived. Peter was quick to improve the unique opportunity 
thus offered. Here was the supreme answer to the taunts of the people 
that his Master had died an ignominious death on the cross. Boldly 
Peter turns upon the multitude and accuses them of being the mur- 
derers of Jesus whom he designates as "the Holy and Just One," 
"God's servant" who had proved the "leader in the way of life.'* 
Each of these designations is rich in suggestiveness. The first is an 
echo of Isaiah 53 and anticipates the theme developed by Peter a 
little later. The second suggests the initial impression which Jesus' 
personality had made upon his disciples and upon all who had known 
him personally. The third title, with marvellous insight, describes 
him as the pioneer, the first to discover the boundless possibilities of 
life and to live it in its fulness. This phrase is nobly interpreted in 
the Fourth Gospel in the words attributed to Jesus: "You shall have 

39 



THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COIMMUNITY 

life and that abundantly" (John 10^°). The once helpless cripple, who 
now stood before the multitude sound and strong, was a convincing 
proof of Jesus' power to give not only spiritual but physical life to those 
whose faith enabled them to reach out and receive it. 

III. Peter's Interpretation of the Old Testament Prophecies. 
The words with which Peter appealed to the multitude reveal great 
tact and, what is more important, a yearning love for them such as 
had filled the heart of Jesus: "Brothers, I know that you have acted 
in ignorance, as have also your rulers," The implied distinction be- 
tween the responsibility of the common people and of their rulers was 
well supported by the facts. Peter's declaration that "God hath ful- 
filled the promises which he made by the mouth of the prophets that 
his Christ would suffer" is one of the many indications contained in 
these early records that the disciples found the explanation of the 
meaning of Jesus' death in the II Isaiah's portrait of the suffering ser- 
vant of Jehovah. Peter reiterated John the Baptist's call to repen- 
tance, but made the motive not merely individual forgiveness but that 
God might send to them "Jesus the Messiah, whom heaven must re- 
ceive until the times of the restoration of which God hath spoken from 
of old by the lips of his holy prophets." Again the impression is deep- 
ened that the apostles' firmly fixed conviction of Jesus' speedy second 
coming to accomplish by supernatural means what he seemed to have 
left undone, was derived not from their Master's words but from their 
perusal of the Old Testament prophecies under the influence of the 
current Jewish apocalyptic hopes. In Acts 3^^ Peter plainly states 
the principle that guided the apostles in their interpretation of these 
ancient scriptures: "Yea, all the prophets who have spoken since 
Samuel and his successors have announced these days." These typ- 
ical early apostolic sermons in the opening chapters of Acts illustrate 
their tendency to ignore the historical background and the immediate 
application of these Old Testament prophecies and to apply all, which 
seemed apposite, to Jesus and to the age in which they were living. 
Their interpretation, however, of the meaning of Jesus' work and 
teaching to them and to all Jews who believed is of incomparable value. 
Peter's closing words in 3^^ are the simplest and clearest statement of 
primitive apostolic faith to be found in the New Testament: "It was 
for you first that God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you 
by turning each of you from your wicked deeds." Here, as in the 
oldest gospel records, Jesus is recognized to be the personal Friend and 
Teacher and Saviour of men. His saving work is done in the lives of 

40 



PETER'S INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 

men by delivering them from the bondage of the evil habits and ideals 
engendered by their past deeds. 

IV. Peter's Defense before Jesus' Murderers. Acts is a book 
of striking contrasts. The event soon proved that ''the disciples were 
not above their Lord." The conspirators and leaders of the Jewish 
nation who had plotted to encompass Jesus' death now interrupted 
Peter's earnest address. At their head was the commander of the 
temple poHce, or segan, who was the official representative of the high- 
priestly authorities. It was his duty to maintain order in the temple 
precincts, and the apostle's bold words gave him and the Sadducees 
whom he represented an excuse for silencing Peter. Deeper than 
their opposition to the doctrine of the resiirrection, which Peter im- 
plicitly taught, was probably their recognition that he was the spokes- 
man of the despised and crucified Nazarene. The informal meeting 
which was held the following morning was in many respects closely 
similar to the preliminary investigation of Jesus which these same 
high-priestly ofiicials had instituted in order to secure data for a formal 
charge. It was again a packed tribunal dominated by Annas, Caiaphas, 
John (in the Western text D, Jonathan), and Alexander. Jonathan was 
a son of Annas, as was probably also Alexander; at least the narrative 
of Acts distinctly states that all the members of the high priest's family 
were present. Peter's reply to their demand that he explain by what 
authority he had performed the miracle was probably suggested by 
Jesus' reply to the Pharisees on a similar occasion: "Is it lawful on the 
sabbath day to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill ? " (Mark 
3^"^.) Psalm 118^^ furnished Peter the figure with which he proclaimed 
the power of his risen Lord: "This Jesus is the stone despised by you 
builders which has become the head of the corner." Again it is an 
echo of Jesus' words recorded in Mark 12^"^. Peter's closing assertion 
anticipates Paul's interpretation of the significance of Jesus' person- 
ality and work. It is probable that here, as elsewhere in the Old and 
New Testaments, the name is not used in a magic sense but to de- 
scribe the character, aims, spirit, and methods of its possessor. Out 
of the depths of his own personal experience Peter declared that the 
spirit and teachings which his Master exemplified present the only way 
in which men of all races and ages may come into living and personal 
relations with their heavenly Father and attain the real goals of all 
living. 

V. The Effect of the Release of Peter and John upon the 
Christian Community. The grafting high priests were naturally 

41 



THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 

eager to silence the disciples of the Nazarene Teacher who had dared 
publicly to condemn their corrupt administration of the temple. The 
Sadducean nobles cared little about questions of orthodoxy. They 
evidently regarded the apostles as mad fanatics, followers of a Galilean 
Messiah, who might arouse the people unduly, and their aim was to 
intimidate them. There was, however, in the apostles' teaching no 
trace of disloyalty to the law or temple ritual or note of sedition, and 
for the moment they had the approval of the multitude. Hence the 
temple authorities, who depended largely on the support of the mob, 
could only let them go free. To the followers of Jesus this meant a 
great victory. Their leaders had openly faced the murderers of Jesus, 
had borne testimony to their Master's resurrection, and the crowds in 
the temple had upheld them. Here was another signal illustration of 
their conviction that the Spirit of God was working mightily in their 
midst. The prayer in 4^-26, 29, 30 jj^^y well have come down directly 
from the early Christian community. It fits most perfectly its pres- 
ent historical setting. Its spirit and thought are characteristic of the 
primitive Christians. Psalm 2^' ^, with its world-wide vision, seemed 
none too exalted to express their exultation and thanksgiving. The 
closing lines of the prayer breathe the spirit that actuated the early 
Christian martyrs and voice their consciousness of a mighty mission 
as the servants of God to proclaim the teachings and do the great work 
that God's holy servant Jesus had intrusted to them. As in chapter 
2, Luke graphically describes the overmastering ecstasy which seized 
them by the statement that "the place where they were was shaken 
and they were filled with the Holy Spirit." This profound spiritual 
experience also inspired them with new zeal and courage in proclaim- 
ing the divine truth intrusted to them and in bearing testimony to 
Jesus' resurrection. 

VI. The Communistic Tendencies of the Believers. The gen- 
eral statements at the close of chapter 2 have been popularly inter- 
preted to mean that the primitive Christian community at Jerusalem 
lived together on a thoroughly communistic basis. Luke may have 
wished to convey this impression. He himself would probably have 
commended such a social organization, for his sympathies, as revealed 
in his gospel, are strongly communistic; but the popular interpre- 
tation is not borne out by the older soiu-ces which he has incorporated 
in Acts. These nowhere state that all of the believers put all of 
their wealth in the common treasury. Instead it is implied that those 
who did so wholly or in part were highly commended for their excep- 

42 



COMMUNISTIC TENDENCIES 

tional generosity. Thus Barnabas, a Jew from the Island of Cyprus, 
who claimed Levitical descent and who later became an active apostle, 
sold a farm belonging to him and turned the proceeds into the common 
fund. The record does not even indicate that he sold all the property 
that he possessed. Peter's words to Ananias also plainly and de- 
cisively indicate that no one was under any compulsion to sell his per- 
sonal property or to turn any or all into the apostolic treasury. The 
absence of any trace of communism in the later history of Palestinian 
Christianity or elsewhere in the early Christian church, until the alien 
tendencies toward asceticism and monasticism gained a foothold within 
it, substantiates the testimony of Acts. All the more significant, 
therefore, is the spirit of generosity and practical brotherhood that 
inspired these primitive Christian believers. Not under the com- 
pulsion of a social compact or institution, but prompted simply by the 
spirit of their Master, "they called none of the things which they 
possessed their own, but shared all things with one another." The 
social ideals that Jesus had held up before his followers and tried to 
apply practically in the life of the closely knit community that lived 
around the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee were being realized. 
"While his influence upon them was still freshest and strongest they 
literally did to others as they would have others do to them. What 
Luke records is simply a practical application of Jesus' social teachings. 
Undoubtedly the believers' expectation of the speedy second coming of 
their Master was also the background of this unique social life; but it 
is well that the Christian church has ever held up before it a concrete 
illustration of what the teachings of Jesus can do and yet will do for 
society, as well as for its individual citizens. Jesus saved Zaccheus, 
the tax collector of Jericho, by influencing him to give back in generous 
measure what he had stolen from society. Barnabas and other Jeru- 
salem citizens like him represent a still higher stage in that sociaUzing 
process which Jesus aimed to perfect in every man. The social leaven 
which he had implanted in the heart of Judaism was beginning to work 
silently but rapidly in an ever-widening circle. 

VII. The Story of Ananias and Sapphira. This story has been 
regarded by many historians as apocryphal. In the form in which it 
has come to us tradition may have heightened certain details, as, for 
example, the immediate death of Ananias and Sapphira on the dis- 
covery of their deceit; or they may have been aflBicted with acute 
heart-disease. One thing is certain: the narrative comes from one of 
the earlier sources, for it implicitly disproves the general statement 

43 



THE PRIMITIVE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY 

of the editor that *'the believers shared all they had with one an- 
other" (Acts 2'*^). The apostles, like the ancient Hebrew prophets {e.g., 
Amos's doom upon Amaziah, Amos 7^^, or Isaiah's definite prediction 
of the fate of Shebna, Isaiah 22^^"^^), appear to have proclaimed the doom 
awaiting especially guilty offenders. Thus Paul in I Corinthians 5* 
declared regarding a member of the Corinthian church who was guilty 
of gross social immorality: "By the power of our Lord Jesus Christ I 
here consign that individual to Satan for the destruction of his flesh 
in order that his spirit may be saved on the day of our Lord Jesus.'* 
The sin of Ananias and Sapphira appears to have been their attempt 
to deceive their fellow Christians by retaining part of the proceeds 
from the sale of the land which they had donated to the community. 
Confronted by this evidence of disloyalty to the teachings of Jesus, 
Peter could not have refrained from a scathing condemnation, and it 
could not have failed to make a profound impression upon the pathetic 
pair who were making such a disastrous attempt to serve both God and 
mammon. Whenever, whetlier at once or later, death overtook the 
culprits, it would be inevitably regarded as a divine judgment. It is 
important to note, however, that the story does not claim to recount 
a miracle; it simply aims to illustrate by contrast the powerful social 
spirit that inspired the Christian community and to point an exceed- 
ingly important moral. 

VIII. The Religious Life of the Jerusalem Christians. Help- 
fulness, hopefulness, unselfishness, and joyfulness characterized the 
life of the early Jerusalem community. In the days immediately fol- 
lowing the great revival at Pentecost it was in a very true sense a 
partial realization of Jesus' ideal of the Kingdom of God on earth. 
All its members were bound together by a common loyalty to their 
heavenly Father and a single-minded devotion to the ideals of their 
Master. Daily they worshipped together in the temple; each meal in 
their homes was apparently eaten in commemoration of their dead 
but risen Lord. Together they constituted one large family united by 
a spirit of good-will and generosity and the consciousness of a great 
mission. The beauty of their common life and the teachings of the 
apostles attracted many Jews to their ranks. The step for them was 
easy, for the Twelve had no thought of a break with Judaism. They 
regarded the scriptures of their race and the service of the temple as 
essential foundations of their faith. The new elements in their belief 
simply represented the last chapter in God's revelation to his people. 
Instead of separating from their fellow Jews, they sought to attract all 

44 



THE RELIGIOUS LIFE 

members of their race to themselves, the true Israel. The idea of a 
mission to the Gentiles outside Judaism was equally alien to the thought 
of the Twelve, although they would doubtless have welcomed pros- 
elytes who came to them, even as did the strictest of the Jews. Acts 
512-16 suggests that in time they had fallen into an entanglement which 
Jesus in the early Galilean days had carefully avoided. The reputa- 
tion which the apostles had gained through healing the lame man in 
the temple courts attracted to them credulous multitudes of men and 
women afflicted with physical and mental maladies. If the narrative 
be accepted as strictly historical, it is evident that this popular credu- 
lity passed over into superstition. It is significant that at this point 
the record of the successful preaching work of the Twelve in Jerusalem 
suddenly ceases. Henceforth the interest centres in the group of 
Hellenistic Jews, gifted with a larger outlook, whose work led ulti- 
mately to the breaking of Jewish bonds and the expansion of Christian- 
ity into a world religion. The important fact to be noted, however, 
is that the vital force in the life of the primitive church was not its 
ritual or its ceremonial forms but the common beliefs and the mutual 
love and spirit of service which bound all together into one great fam- 
ily and attracted to their ranks the many who felt the crying spiritual 
and social needs that Christianity, thus simply and concretely inter- 
preted, was able to supply. The early Christian church was but an 
extension of the unique brotherhood which Jesus had established during 
his active Galilean days. What was true of Christianity at first has 
proved true throughout its history : its significant and lasting conquests 
have been won through the personal touch and through fellowship in 
faith, in love, and in service. 

§CXLVni. THE WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN 

Now during those days, when the disciples were increas- The 
ing in number, the Hellenists (the Greek-speaking Jews) p?Int- 
began to complain against the Hebrews (who were natives ^^J^^ 
and residents in Palestine) because their widows were seven 
being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. There- i^f)^ 
fore the Twelve called togetiier the main body of the dis- 
ciples and said, It is not fitting that we should neglect preach- 
ing the word of God in order to serve meals. Brothers, 
select seven of your own number, men of good reputation, 
full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will place in 

45 



WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN 

charge of this matter; but we will continue to devote our- 
selves to prayer and the ministry of the word. This plan 
met with the approval of the whole body. Accordingly, 
they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, 
Phflip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nic- 
olaiis, a proselyte from Antioch. These men they set be- 
fore the apostles, who after praying laid their hands upon 
them. 
In- And the word of the Lord spread and the number of the 

o?S disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly and a large number 
cipies of priests became obedient to the faith. 
The Now Stephen, who was full of grace and power, performed 

agamit gT^at wouders and miracles among the people. But some 
^^^ of those who belonged to the so-called sjntiagogue of the 
(8") Libyians and C3rrenians and the Alexandrians, and also the 
natives of Cilicia and the Roman province of Asia began 
to dispute with Stephen, and they were not able to meet 
the wisdom and spirit with which he spoke. Then they 
instigated certain men to say. We have heard him speak- 
ing blasphemous words against Moses and God. Thus 
they stirred up the people, the elders and the scribes so 
that they rushed upon him and seized him and took him 
before Ihe Sanhedrin. They also set up false witnesses 
who said. This man never ceases talking against this holy 
place and the law. Indeed we have heard him say that 
this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change 
the customs handed down to us by Moses! 
His Then all who were seated in the Sanhedrin fixed their 

before^ eyes on him and saw that his face shone like the face of an 
sSihe- ^^S©!' But the high priest said. Are these things so? 
dSn^" Stephen replied. Brothers and fathers, listen: The God of 
glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in 
Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, and said to him, 
* Go forth from thy land and from thy kinsmen and come to 
the land which I will show thee.' Then, leaving the land 
of the Chaldeans, he stayed in Haran. After his father's 
death, God moved him into this land where you now dwell. 
But he did not give him any inheritance in it nor even a 
foot of land. He did, however, promise that he would give 
it as a possession to him and to his descendants after him, 

46 



(615-75. 



STEPHEN'S ADDRESS 

although as yet he was childless. So Abraham became the 
father of Isaac, whom he circumcised on the eighth day. 
And Isaac was the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve 
patriarchs. 

And the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph and sold him God's 
into Egypt. But God was with him and deUvered him out sMp^^' 
of all his troubles and gave him favor and wisdom in the o^*^© 
presence of Pharaoh, king of Egjrpt, who appointed him Sy*^^ 
governor over Egypt and over all his own household. But l'^^^ 
a famine came over the whole land of Egypt and Canaan 
and great misery so that our forefathers could find no food. 
But Jacob, hearing that there was food in Egypt, sent our 
forefathers there for the first time. And on tiieir second 
visit, Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and 
Pharaoh was informed regarding Joseph's lineage. Then 
Joseph sent and invited his father Jacob and all ids family, 
amounting to seventy-five persons. So Jacob went down 
into Egypt. 

But as the time drew near for the fulfilment of the prom- Their 
ise made to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in emnce 
Egypt, until another king arose in Egypt who knew not ^y^ 
Joseph. He, adopting a crafty policy toward our race, op- ("°^ 
pressed our forefathers by making them expose their infants 
so that they might not live. At this time Moses was bom, 
a divinely beautiful child, and for three months he was 
cared for in his father's house. Then he was exposed but 
Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as 
her own son. So Moses was educated in all the learning 
of the Egjrptians and was a man strong in speech and 
action. When he had completed his fortieth year, it oc- 
curred to him to visit his kinsmen, the children of Israel. 
Seeing one of them being unjustly treated, he took his part 
and avenged the man who was being unjustly treated by 
striking down the Egjrptian. He supposed that his kins- 
men knew that by him God was going to bring them deliv- 
erance: but they did not understand. Next day he came 
upon two of them fighting. And he tried to make peace 
between them, sa3ring, * Men, you are brothers ! Why 
injure one another? ' But the man who was injuring his 
neighbor pushed him away, saying, * Who made you ruler 

47 



WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN 

and judge over us? Do you want to kill me as you killed 
the Egyptian yesterday^? ' At this speech Moses fled and 
became a resident alien in the land of Midian, where he 
became the father of two sons. At the close of forty years 
an angel appeared to him in the flame of a burning thorn 
bush in the wilderness of Mount Sinai. When Moses saw 
this he marvelled at the sight; but as he went up to look 
at it, the voice of the Lord said, * I am the God of your 
fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.* Trem- 
bling with fear, Moses did not dare to look. And the Lord 
said to him, * Take thy sandals off thy feet, for the place 
where thou art standing is sacred ground. I have indeed 
seen the oppression of my people in Egjrpt. I have heard 
their groans and I have come down to deliver them. Come 
now, I will send thee back to Eg3rpt.' That Moses whom 
they rejected, sajdng, * Who made you a ruler and judge 
over us? ' — that was the very man whom God sent to rule 
and redeem them by the help of the angel who appeared 
to him in the bush. He it was who led them forth, doing 
wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, 
and in the wilderness for forty years. This is the Moses who 
said to the children of Israel, *God will raise up a prophet 
for you from among your brotherhood, as he raised me.* 
Their This was the man who at the assembly in the wilderness 
^o^-^ intervened between the angel who spoke to him on Mount 
^ider- ^"^^ ^^^ ^^^ fathers ; he received Hving words to be given 
ness^^" to us. But our forefathers would not submit to him, but 
('«■*') pushed him aside and in their hearts hankered for Egypt. 
They said to Aaron, * Make for us gods that they may march 
in front of us ! As for this Moses who led us out of Egypt, 
we do not know what has become of him!* Moreover they 
made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to this idol, and 
rejoiced over what their own hands had made. So God 
turned from them and gave them up to the worship of the 
host of heaven. 
God's In the wilderness our forefathers had the tent of testi- 
ikmfor J^ony, made as he who spoke to Moses had instructed him 
their to make it after the pattern he had seen. This also our 
5Sp forefathers in their turn brought in with Joshua when they 
(""") took possession of the territory of the nations whom God 

48 



THE WORSHIP OF THE EARLY ISRAELITES 

drove out before them. So it remained until the days of 
David. He found favor with God and asked that he might 
provide a dwelling for the God of Jacob. But it was Solor 
mon who built him a house. 

Yet the Most High doth not dwell in houses made with 
hands. As the prophet says: 

Heaven is my throne, 

And the eartii is a footstool for my feet! 

What kind of house will ye build for me, saith the Lord? 

Or what resting place shall I have? 

Did not my hand make all this? 

Stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you 
are always resisting the Holy Spirit! As with your fore- gant!^' 
fathers, so with you ! Which of the prophets did your fore- ^re^ 
fathers not persecute? They also killed those who an- atti-^^^ 
nounced beforehand the coming of the Just One, whose the^^^ 
betrayers and murderers you have become — you who re- Je^a^ 
ceived the law given through angels and yet have not 
obeyed it! 

When they heard this they were furious and gnashed their 
teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed up into ptJn's 
heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the death 
right hand of God. Behold, I see heaven open, he said, s^) * 
and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. 
But they with a loud shriek shut their ears and rushed at 
him in a body. Dragging him outside the city, they stoned 
him. And the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a 
youth called Saul. So they stoned Stephen while he 
prayed. Lord Jesus receive my spirit ! Then kneeling down 
he cried with a loud voice. Lord, let not this sin stand against 
them! And when he had said this, he fell asleep. But 
certain devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamen- 
tation over him. 

L The Story of Stephen's Martyrdom. This story marks an 
important stage in the history of the ApostoHc Age. It contains the 
first suggestion of a rift between the Jewish and Hellenistic elements 
in the Jewish Christian community. The only explanation of its 
presence in a writing, the irenical purpose of which is so evident as 

49 



WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN 

that of Acts, is that the narrative was originally drawn from an older 
and probably written source. The facts presented in this narrative 
have only the most general and loose relation to those found in the 
preceding chapters. The speech attributed to Stephen in chapter 7 
is also the longest in the book. Its thought and argument have no 
close parallel in the New Testament except in the book of Hebrews. 
It is clearly the work of a Jew familiar with the contemporary rabbin- 
ical interpretations of the older scriptures. Thus, for example, it is 
stated that an angel spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai and that the law 
was ordained by angels (Acts 7^^' ^). These are details of later Jewish 
tradition which would naturally be unknown to a Greek like Luke, 
except as he found them incorporated in some earlier source. Further- 
more, the discourse attributed to Stephen is not closely connected with 
its context. It is not so much a defense as a part of a discussion such 
as Stephen is reported (in Acts 6^* ^^) to have carried on in the syna- 
gogues of the Greek-speaking Jews. The only satisfactory explana- 
tion of its presence is that it was preserved and associated with the 
name of Stephen. These and other reasons indicate that this story of 
his martyrdom is one of the oldest narratives in the first part of the 
book of Acts. It certainly furnishes invaluable data for the interpre- 
tation of this great turning-point in the life of the early Christian com- 
munity. 

II. The Appointment of the Seven. The dramatic account of 
the day of Pentecost implies that many Jews of the dispersion were 
early attracted to the Christian community. This conclusion is con- 
firmed by Acts 6. It was natural that the teachings and principles of 
Jesus should appeal more strongly to the Hellenistic Jews (that is, to 
the Greek-speaking Jews who had been born and reared beyond the 
bounds of Palestine) than to those of Palestine. Their contact with 
the larger Greek world had opened their minds to new truths and had 
developed a receptive attitude. As a whole, they were mentally more 
alert and better educated. Throughout all their history the Jews of 
the dispersion had shown themselves more friendly toward new ideas. 
Thus, for example, they alone accepted the so-called apocryphal books 
of the Old Testament, while the Palestinian Jews rejected them from 
their canon. Some of these Hellenistic Jews were probably temporary 
residents in Jerusalem, simply as pilgrims, while others, having acquired 
a competence, had returned, like many of the Jews to be found in 
Jerusalem to-day, to spend the remainder of their life under the shadow 
of the temple. The Jews of Palestine, on the other hand, were, as a 

50 



THE APPOINTMENT OF THE SEVEN 

rule, self-satisfied and inclined to look down upon the other members 
of their race, whom they regarded as contaminated by contact with 
the heathen and by long residence in foreign lands. They also viewed 
askance their more tolerant attitude toward Greek culture and life and 
the customs of the outside world. It was probably this inherited and 
inbred attitude that led the Palestinian Jewish Christians to neglect 
the needy members of the Hellenistic group. The apostles' evident 
ignorance of this tendency indicates that the neglect was the fault of the 
humbler members of the community, to whom was doubtless intrusted 
the task of serving food. Such differences are often more marked the 
lower the individuals stand in the social scale. The e\dl was suffi- 
cient, however, to attract the attention of the leaders in the Helle- 
nistic group and to induce them to lay the matter before the Twelve. 
When it was brought to their attention, they settled it in the fairest 
and simplest way. They rightly maintained that they themselves 
should not neglect their work of preaching to serve tables. Accord- 
ingly they requested the Hellenists to select seven of their most re- 
liable and spiritually minded leaders to look out for the interests of 
their group. This proposal was commended by the entire Christian 
community. The method adopted in meeting this difficulty also il- 
lustrates the democratic spirit that actuated the Christian beUevers in 
all their relations with each other. 

The Greek names of the seven, as well as the narrative, indicate that 
they were probably all Hellenistic Jews by birth. It is a mistake to 
regard them as the prototypes of the later order of deacons. Rather 
they appear to have been a committee appointed to represent the Hel- 
lenistic group in the Christian community in very much the same way 
as the apostles represented the Palestinian group. They were chosen 
apparently not because of their age but for their abihty. Their ap- 
pointment did not establish a new office but rather met practically a 
pressing need. As the event proved, the men appointed were of such 
signal ability that they soon showed themselves qualified to do far 
more than serve tables. Certain of them soon surpassed the Twelve 
as preachers and controversialists and won a leading place among the 
apostles who proclaimed the teachings and works of Jesus to the Jewish 
and Gentile world. Their appointment is a convincing proof that the 
rift between the Palestinian and Hellenistic Jews, even within the 
Christian community, was practically inevitable, and that it was 
recognized long before Paul entered upon his campaign to liberate 
Gentile Christians from Jewish bonds. 

51 



WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN 

ni. Stephen's Discussions with the Hellenistic Jews, It is 

difficult to determine how much time is represented by the narrative 
of Acts 6 and 7. It may have been a year or more. During this period 
Stephen had evidently become the recognized leader and spokesman 
of the seven and had developed an apostolic ability which for a time 
even eclipsed that of Peter himself. There was apparently a tacit 
and amicable division of the field between the Twelve and the seven. 
Stephen worked where the Twelve were only partially effective, that 
is, among the Hellenistic Jews. The narrative indicates that, instead 
of confining his speeches to the temple courts, he went into their syna- 
gogues, not to preach but, after the method so much beloved by the 
Greeks, to engage in open discussion with their elders. The fact 
that he first entered the synagogues whose membership was made up 
of Hellenists from the Jewish colonies in northern Africa suggests that 
Stephen himself came originally from that part of the Roman world. 
This inference is strongly supported by the marked peculiarity and 
style of thought reflected in the speech attributed to him and recorded 
in Acts 7, for they are found only in writings that show the influence 
of Alexandria. It is exceedingly probable that in the synagogue of the 
Cilicians he first met, possibly in open discussion, a certain Jew from 
the Cilician city of Tarsus by the name of Paul. The line of reasoning 
which Stephen adopted is doubtless represented by the discourse in 
chapter 7. Starting with Jewish premises, he aimed to show the 
logical connection with and yet the superiority of the teachings and 
work of Jesus to those of the earlier teachers of his race. Apparently 
he triumphed over his opponents. He also aroused the bitter oppo- 
sition of many of the Hellenists, so that in their rage they charged him 
with blasphemy. It was a charge which always stirred the wrath of 
the Jews. Not only did it enrage the mass of the people but evidently 
kindled the indignation of the Pharisaic leaders. Thus reinforced, the 
Hellenistic Jews lodged a definite charge against him before the national 
Jewish council, the Sanhedrin, before which cases of heresy were tried. 
The final form of the charge that they preferred against him was that 
his teachings had been hostile to the Jewish temple and law: "that 
Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and change the customs 
handed down to us by Moses." Evidently this was a popular inter- 
pretation of the intent of Stephen's teachings. It implies that he had 
quoted Jesus' words about the temple recorded in Mark 13^' ^. The 
discoiu-se which follows suggests the ultimate basis of their charge. 
Like Jesus, Stephen aimed not to destroy the law but to show that his 

52 



DISCUSSIONS WITH THE JEWS 

Master's work represented its logical fruition. This charge also sug- 
gests what would have been the conclusion of Stephen's address had 
not the stones flung by the infuriated mob forever interrupted it. 

IV. The Logic of Stephen's Speech. , The speech attributed 
to Stephen in Acts 7 is not a formal defense but a resume of his teach- 
ings. Its logical connection is not always obvious and a certain typo- 
logical undercurrent runs through it which is closely related to the 
contemporary writings emanating from the Alexandrian school. Its 
free interpretation of history and the use of scripture also recall the 
methods of the rabbis. He first reminds the Jews of how God called 
their forefather Abraham and guided their ancestors through countless 
perils that their descendants might ultimately realize their divine 
destiny. Each prophet and deliverer was a type of the deliverer that 
was ultimately to be revealed. The different physical resting-places 
to which he led his people, and, above all, the land of Canaan, were 
symboUc of the ultimate rest prepared for those who trust him. The 
tabernacle and the temple with their formal service were but primitive 
types of the real heavenly dwelling-place of the Almighty. Through 
all these various experiences God had been seeking to train his people 
for the reception of a greater truth, but they had consistently proved 
stubborn and irreceptive, resisting the influences of his Spirit. Not 
only they, but the men who stood before him were more intent upon 
persecuting and killing the prophets than of learning and accepting 
their messages. Little wonder then that when the Just One announced 
by all earher prophets and the culmination of God's process of revela- 
tion came to them they betrayed and murdered him, for they had dis- 
obeyed the law and the divine revelation which it embodied. 

It is evident that Stephen was not conscious of repudiating the Jew- 
ish law and temple ritual. Rather, like the ethical prophets of old, he 
felt that he was simply emphasizing their spiritual teachings. Far 
from desiring to bring about a breach between Judaism and Christian- 
ity, he was, like the Twelve, trying to lead the Jews to accept the 
teachings and work of their greatest prophet and their promised Mes- 
siah. Jesus, in the thought of Stephen, was the Just One toward 
whom all their earlier leaders and experiences had pointed. 

V. The Death of Stephen. In the death of Stephen primitive 
Christianity lost one of its greatest interpreters. A first-hand impres- 
sion of his character and work is probably preserved in Acts 6^^^. As 
he stood before the hostile members of the Sanhedrin, they saw that 
"his face shone like the face of an angel." It b a dramatic and sig- 

53 



WORK AND DEATH OF STEPHEN 

nificant fact that Acts in its account of the martyrdom has brought 
Paul and Stephen together, and has left us to infer that the divine light 
that shone from Stephen's dying eyes proved the foregleams of the 
divine effulgence that beamed upon Paul on his memorable journey 
a little later to Damascus. Stephen manifested the same tireless 
energy, the same boldness, and the same utter disregard of opposition 
and pain as did Paul. Like Paul, his logic was destined in the end to 
break the narrow bonds of Judaism, though he appears to have been 
unconscious of that fact. If he had lived, the later history of Pales- 
tinian Christianity would probably have been very different. Cer- 
tainly the break with narrow Judaistic Christianity would have come 
much earlier. Stephen in his preaching laid the foundations for the 
world-wide expansion of Christianity. In his work among the Jews 
of the dispersion resident at Jerusalem he apparently kindled the fire 
of Christianity which before long flamed up in the far-away cities of 
northern Africa and western Syria. Fortunately, in a very real sense 
the mantle which slipped from Stephen's shoulders fell upon Paul. 
Like Jesus, Stephen in certain ways accomplished more by his mar- 
tyrdom than he did while living. Again the age-long principle was 
illustrated that, if a man gives his life for a cause, no one can gainsay 
the sincerity of his testimony. The death of Stephen was well cal- 
culated to make an indelible impression upon all who witnessed or 
heard of it. The narrative of Acts implies that as he was dying there 
was given to him one of the many visions of the risen Christ which had 
characterized and inspired the activity of the early Christians. His 
words remain the only direct testimony we have regarding the exact 
nature of these visions: ** Behold I see heaven open and the Son of Man 
standing at God's right hand." 

§CXLIX. THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY AFTER THE 
DEATH OF STEPHEN 

The On the day when Stephen was stoned to death a great 

l^g persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and 
of the all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea 
u^^ and Samaria. And those who were scattered went in dif- 
su,*:^) ferent directions preaching the gospel. 

Philip travelled down to the city of Samaria, where he 
preached Christ to them. And the crowds attended with 
one accord to what was said by Philip, listening to him and 

64 



PHILIP'S WORK IN SAMARIA 

seeing the miracles he performed. For imclean spirits Phiiii)'s 
came with a loud cry out of many who had been possessed, s^^^ 
and many paralytics and lame people were healed. So mana 
there was great joy in that city. 

Now for some time past a man named Simon had been simon 
practising magic arts in the city and astonishing the Sa- ^Igi-^ 
maritans, pretending he was a great person. And all sorts cian 
and conditions of people attached themselves to him, say- 
ing. This one is that Power of God which is known as * The 
Great Power.' They attached themselves to him because 
he had amazed them for a considerable time with his magic 
skill. But when they beUeved Philip, who preached ttie 
Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, they had them- 
selves baptized, both men and women. Simon himself 
also believed, and after being baptized kept close to Philip 
and was astonished to see the signs and great miracles which 
were performed. 

When the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had His 
accepted the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, S^^a- 
who came down and prayed that they might receive the tionby 
Holy Spirit, for it had not yet fallen upon any of them, ("-^o 
They had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord 
Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they re- 
ceived the Holy Spirit. But when Simon saw that the Holy 
Spirit was conferred by the la3dng on of the apostles' hands, 
he brought them money, saying. Give me, too, this power, 
so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the 
Holy Spirit. Peter said to him. May your money and you 
perish for supposing that you could buy the gift of God! 
You have no share nor lot in this religion, for your heart is 
not right in the sight of God. So repent of this wickedness 
of yours and pray to the Lord in the hope that your heart's 
purpose may be forgiven. For I see that you are a bitter 
poison and a pack of evil. Simon replied. Pray the Lord 
for me. Pray that nothing you have said may befall me. pSa? 

So the apostles after bearing their testimony to the word mation 
of the Lord and preaching it, returned to Jerusalem preach- jLus 
ing the gospel to a nimiber of the Samaritan villages. But EtSS- 
the angel of the Lord said to Philip, Rise and go south, pian 
along title road from Jerusalem to Gaza (this is the desert ^^^^^ 

55 



THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 

route). So he arose and went on his way. Now there 
was an Ethiopian eunuch, a high official of Candace the 
queen of the Ethiopians, who was her chief treasurer and 
had conre to Jerusalem for worship but was on his way 
home. And as he was sitting in his chariot, he was reading 
the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to PhiUp, Go up 
and join that chariot. And as PhiHp ran up he heard him 
reading the prophet Isaiah. Do you understand what you 
are reading, he asked. How can I, said the eimuch, imless 
someone guide me? And he begged PhiUp to get up and 
sit beside him. Now the passage of scripture which he 
was reading was this: 

He was led Hke a sheep to slaughter, 

And as a lamb is dumb before the shearer, 

So he opened not his Ups. 

Who will make known his generation. 

In his htmiiliation the justice due him was taken away, 

For his life is cut off from the earth. 

So the eunuch said to Philip, Pray, of whom is the prophet 

speaking? Of himself or of someone else? Then Philip 

opened his mouth, and starting from this scripture preached 

the gospel of Jesus to him. As they proceeded on their 

way, they came to some water, and the eimuch said, there 

is water! What is to prevent me being baptized? So he 

ordered the chariot to stop, and both of them stepped into 

the water, and Philip baptized the eunuch. When they 

came up from the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught 

Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no longer, for he was 

proceeding on his way rejoicing. But PhiUp foimd himself 

at Azotus and he passed on, preaching the gospel in every 

town, until he reached Caesarea. 

Preach- Now those who had been scattered by the trouble which 

^IpS^ arose over Stephen made their way as far as Phoenicia and 

to the Cyprus and Antioch, preaching the word to none except Jews. 

2t^ But some of them were citizens of Cyprus and C5rrene, who 

f^^, on reaching Antioch began preaching to the Greeks also 

=" ''• the gospel of the Lord Jesus and considerable ntmibers 

*"'^ were brought in for the Lord. In Antioch also the disciples 

were first called Christians. 

56 



HEROD'S PERSECUTION OF THE APOSTLES 



Now about that time King Herod laid violent hands on Her- 
some members of the church. James the brother of John °^^q_ 
he slew with the sword. Seeing that this was pleasing to cution 
the Jews, he went on to seize Peter during the days of un- apo^^ 
leavened bread. After arresting him, he put him in prison, ^^^^^. 
handing him over to a guard of sixteen soldiers with the in- 
tention after the passover to bring him out to the people. 
So Peter was kept in prison under guard; but earnest 
prayer for him was offered to God by the church. 

Now on the very night v/hen Herod was about to lead peter's 
him forth Peter lay asleep between two soldiers, bound by ^^R^ 
two chains, with guards keeping watch before the door. 
And behold an angel of the Lord stood before him and a 
light shone in the cell; and striking Peter on the side he 
woke him and said. Rise quickly! And the fetters fell 
from his hands. Then the angel said to him. Gird your- 
self and put on your sandals, and he did so. Then said the 
angel. Throw your cloak about you and follow me. So 
Peter followed him out not knowing that what the angel 
was doing was real, but supposing that he saw a vision. 
When they had passed the first guard and the second, they 
came to the iron gate leading into the city, which opened to 
them of its own accord. Then passing out they proceeded 
through one street, when suddenly the angel left him. 
Peter, coming to himself, said. Now I know for certain 
that the Lord hath sent his angel and delivered me from the 
hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were 
anticipating. When he appreciated this he went to the 
house of Mary, the mother of John who was sumamed 
Mark, where a number had assembled and were praying. 
When he knocked at the door of the porch, a maidservant 
named Rhoda came to answer it, and as soon as she rec- 
ognized Peter^s voice, she did not open the door because 
of her joy, but ran and told them that Peter was standing 
in front of the porch. They said to her. You are mad; but 
she insisted that it was so. It is his angel, they said. But 
Peter kept on knocking. And when they opened the door 
they knew that it was he and were amazed. But he 
beckoned to them with his hand to be silent and described 
to them how the Lord had brought him out of prison. He 

57 



THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 

also said, Tell this to James and to the brothers. Then 
going forth, he went to another place. Now at daybreak 
Siere was no little commotion among the soldiers over what 
could have become of Peter. And when Herod had searched 
for him and could not find him after cross-questioning the 
guards, he ordered them away to execution. 
Her- Then Herod went down from Judea to Caesarea and 

deato spent some time there. As he was highly incensed against 
(i9b-23) ^^Q inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon, they waited on him iman- 
imously and after having secured the good will of Blastus 
his chamberlain they begged the king to make pea'ce with 
them for their coimtry was dependent upon his for its food- 
supply. So, on an appointed day, Herod, having arrayed 
himself in royal robes, took his seat on the tribunal and was 
haranguing them. And the people kept shouting. It is the 
voice of a god and not of a man. Instantly an angel of the 
Lord struck him, because he had not given due glory to 
God, and, being eaten by up worms, he died. 

I. The Far=Reaching Effects of Stephen's Martyrdom. The 

death of Stephen inaugurated a new era in the evolution of primitive 
Christianity. In its background and its influence this period corre- 
sponds in many ways to the Babylonian exile out of which Judaism 
developed. It represented the beginning of the absolute breach be- 
tween Judaism and Christianity and the birth of the Christian church 
as an organization independent of the Jewish temple and law. This 
fact was not suspected by the Palestinian Christians represented by the 
Twelve, who still clung to the Jewish rites. As a result, they do not 
appear to have been driven from Jerusalem nor to have been troubled by 
persecution. From Acts 8^- ^^ and Galatians P* it is evident that, if they 
left Jerusalem at all, they soon retiu-ned to make it their permanent 
home. Only the Hellenistic Christians, those who had been born in 
the land of the dispersion and who, like Stephen, interpreted Chris- 
tianity in its larger meaning, were branded as heretics by the Jews and 
made the object of their bitter persecution. Some were imprisoned 
(Acts 8^), others publicly beaten in the Jewish synagogues (Acts 26"), 
while others, like Stephen, suffered martyrdom (Acts 26^°). This 
bitter persecution extended even to the cities outside of Jerusalem and 
appears to have been chiefly instigated by Hellenistic Jews, of whom 
Paul of Tarsus was one of the most active leaders. 

58 



EFFECTS OF STEPHEN'S MARTYRDOM 

The second effect of the martyrdom of Stephen was the extension of 
the work of the Hellenistic Christian leaders like Philip beyond the 
narrow bounds of Judaism. Now began that world expansion of 
Christianity which Luke has dramatically recorded in the book of 
Acts. Hitherto the followers of Jesus have been content to remain 
in Jerusalem awaiting his miraculous return, but now the Hellenistic 
Christians took up anew his preaching mission. Many of them simply 
returned to their homes in the great commercial centres along the 
eastern Mediterranean, carrying with them the spirit and teachings 
of their Master. Thus Christianity, fanned into a flame by persecu- 
tion, spread northward and westward along the great highways, 
kindling its fires in the chief cities of that ancient world. Each re- 
turning Jewish Christian became a missionary as opportunity offered. 
Experience soon proved, even as it had in Jerusalem, that the leaven 
which Jesus placed in the centre of Judaism was even more effective 
among the peoples hving beyond the immediate pale of the temple 
than in Jerusalem itself. 

The third effect of this first great Christian dispersion was the rapid 
transformation of the Palestinian type of Christianity when trans- 
planted in new soil. It is difficult to predict what would have become 
of Stephen and those who accepted his point of view if they had re- 
mained under the shadow of the Jewish temple and under the influ- 
ence of the conservative Palestinian Christian community. But, 
released from the bonds of Judaism and in close contact with the 
broadening influences of the Grseco-Roman world, they developed the 
type of faith which was destined to overleap all barriers and to inter- 
pret the simple teachings and spirit of Jesus in terms intelligible to 
all mankind. 

II. The Samaritan Field. There were many reasons why the 
Samaritan field was favorable for early Christian missionary activity. 
Notwithstanding the bitter fraternal hatred with which the Jews re- 
garded the Samaritans, they looked upon them very differently than 
they did upon the heathen. The Jews despised the Samaritans because 
their forefathers had freely intermarried with the heathen, because they 
had shown themselves ready at all times to accept Greek and Roman 
culture, and because, in accepting simply the Pentateuch as their 
scriptures, they represented an arrested stage of spiritual, religious, 
and moral development. And yet even the strictest Pharisee did not 
object to eating with a Samaritan. Common traditions, institutions, 
and worship bound the two peoples together. Each shared the hopes 

59 



THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 

of a coming Messiah. Jesus had set the example to his followers of 
freely associating with the Samaritans and even of preaching and min- 
istering to them. Above all, in one of his great parables he had singled 
out a Samaritan as a supreme example of neighborliness. The Samar- 
itans were on the whole much more open-minded and tolerant than 
the Jews. Samaria, therefore, was a field which appealed strongly to 
a Hellenistic Christian like Philip. 

III. The Results of Philip's Preaching in Samaria. Philip's 
Greek name suggests that he was a Hellenist, as does also his place 
among the seven appointed to guard the interests of the Hellenistic 
section of the Jerusalem church. Acts 21^ states that his home was in 
Csesarea, a strong Grseco-Roman city. Apparently his teachings 
stood midway between those of the native Judaizing Christians and 
those of the extreme Hellenists. The content of his teaching, as well 
as the fact that he was a resident of Palestine, strongly point to the 
conclusion that he had personally seen and heard Jesus. Later Chris- 
tian tradition even confuses him with Philip the disciple. Another 
tradition makes him one of the Seventy, who, according to Luke's 
later version of the sending out of the Twelve, were commanded to 
proclaim the Gospel to the people. This tradition is probably based 
on the fact that Philip's teachings and method of work closely resemble 
those adopted by Jesus during his Galilean ministry. According to 
the testimony of Acts, Philip alone of all the apostolic teachers made 
the Gospel of the Kingdom of God central in his preaching. To this 
he added "the Gospel of the Name of Jesus" (Acts 8^). In the light 
of the teachings of the earlier apostles, it is evident that this peculiar 
phrase refers to the primitive interpretation of the character and mes- 
sianic work of Jesus. With the aid of these meagre records, it is possi- 
ble to reconstruct partially at least the content of Philip's addresses. 
Evidently his preaching consisted chiefly in a reiteration of the teach- 
ings of Jesus. On his lips may well have been preserved many of the 
matchless parables of the kingdom which reappear only in Luke's 
gospel. 

The scene of his work was apparently the city of Samaria itself, the 
metropolis and capital of the province which bore that name. Herod 
the Great had encircled the hill on which this ancient city rested with a 
great highway, flanked on either side by stately colonnades. The top 
of the hiU he had crowned with a great temple dedicated to Augustus, 
the foundations of which have only recently been laid bare. Philip 
had evidently stopped at this centre of Samaritan life on his way back 

60 



THE RESULTS OF PHILIP'S PREACHING 

to his home at Caesarea, for the city of Samaria lay on the main high- 
way which led northward and westward from Jerusalem to the sea. 
The Samaritans throughout their later history showed themselves a 
simple, childlike people, especially superstitious and susceptible to 
suggestion. Philip's teaching, like that of Jesus at certain periods of 
his ministry, was accompanied by acts of healing which appealed power- 
fully to the multitudes. Those who accepted his teachings w^ere bap- 
tized. Thus Philip developed a new and effective type of evangelism 
which combined the teachings of Jesus and the methods of John the 
Baptist with a supreme devotion to the Master and the declaration 
that he was the fulfilment of the messianic hopes which the Samaritans 
shared in common with their Jewish brothers. 

The passage in Acts 8^^"^^ seems to imply that the people of Samaria 
as a whole had been converted and that the apostles Peter and John 
came as the official representatives of the Jerusalem church to receive 
these new converts into its membership. The inference that this 
apostoHc sanction was necessary reflects strongly the point of view 
and conceptions which first became prevalent during the latter part 
of the first Christian century. The older record impHes that Philip's 
work was spontaneous, almost accidental, and that the results were 
themselves sufficient evidence of divine approval. If the apostles came 
to Samaria attracted by the success of his work, they probably came 
not in an official capacity but as fellow workers. To the same later 
churchly tendency is doubtless due the theory that the Holy Spirit 
came to the Samaritans only as a result of the laying on of the apos- 
tles' hands. 

The underlying purpose of the story in Acts, however, is to illustrate 
the significant fact that, although Christianity doubtless often at- 
tracted impostors, its innate moral and spiritual character quickly 
revealed what was spurious. Philip's work among the Samaritans 
was new evidence of the potency and adaptabihty of the Gospel of 
Jesus and of the Gospel about Jesus that was being rapidly formulated 
by his followers. There was nothing in Philip's work to arouse even 
the most conservative Jewish Christians; and yet the prominence which 
the narrator gave to Philip's mission to the Samaritans indicates that 
it represented an important stage in the expansion of Christianity. 
It was apparently not in itself permanent and far-reaching largely 
because of the fickle character of the Samaritans. Possibly it was also 
because neither PhiHp nor Peter had Paul's organizing and pastoral 
skiU. 

61 



THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 

IV. Philip's Conversation with the Ethiopian Eunuch. The 

early apostles inherited from the Hebrew prophets and from Jesus 
the consciousness of acting at each important crisis in their lives under 
direct divine guidance. This conviction is everywhere apparent, not 
only in Acts but in the writings of Paul. The terms by which this 
guidance is described vary, as in the present narrative. In Acts 8^® it 
is stated that an angel of the Lord gave the command to Philip. In ^^ 
it was simply the Spirit, and in ^^ the Spirit of the Lord that directed 
his evangelistic activity. In each case the impulse evidently came 
from within. The account of Philip's memorable conversation with the 
Ethiopian eunuch implies that the impulse to follow him came after 
the evangelist had already returned with the apostles to Jerusalem. 
The visit of a prominent proselyte, such as the treasurer of Candace, 
the queen of the Ethiopians, to Jerusalem must have been quickly 
known to all of its inhabitants. Doubtless as a worshipper he also 
brought rich gifts to the temple. Ethiopia was the vast, mysterious 
region to the south of Egypt, whence in the days of Augustus had 
emerged a queen by the name of Candace who had attempted to drive 
the Romans out of the Thebiad, but who had been defeated by the 
Roman general Petronius in 24 B.C. and her capital, Meroe, captured. 
According to the testimony of Pliny the name Candace was regularly 
borne by the queens of Ethiopia, and probably corresponded to the 
Egyptian term Pharaoh. As early as 300 B.C. Greek culture had pene- 
trated Ethiopia, and this fact explains how the Ethiopian eunuch was 
able to read the Greek version of the Old Testament which Philip found 
in his hands. It also reveals the influences which led him to make a 
pilgrimage of fully one thousand miles to the Jewish sanctuary at Jeru- 
salem. 

The fact that he was reading from Isaiah 53^- ^ which describes the 
suffering of Jehovah's servant, and questioning the meaning of this 
passage, strongly suggests that while at Jerusalem he had come in 
contact with the teachings of the apostles and their interpretation of 
this passage as a direct reference to Jesus. A knowledge of this fact 
may well have come to Philip and, if so, it constituted one of the chief 
elements in the impulse which led him to follow the returning pilgrim. 
It was a case which must have appealed strongly to Philip's instincts 
as an evangelist. A late tradition places the spring where the Ethio- 
pian official was baptized on the narrow road, practically impassable 
for chariots, which leads southwestward from Jerusalem. An older 
and more probable tradition, however, identifies it with the copious 

62 



THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH 

spring a little north of Bethzur on the main road southward through 
Hebron and Gaza. The latter corresponds more perfectly to the 
desert road definitely mentioned in Acts 8^. In a mind already pre- 
pared Philip sowed the seeds of the Gospel and thereby added to the 
rapidly growing ranks of the believers one whose influence may go far 
to explain why before the end of the first Christian century in distant 
Abyssinia there was a strong and flourishing Christian community. 
The conversion and baptism of the Ethiopian was not contrary to the 
narrow traditions accepted by the Palestinian Christians, for, as a 
proselyte, he had aheady been accepted within the ranks of Judaism. 
The incident, however, represents the gradual opening of the door to 
the Gentiles and was evidently reported for this reason. 

With the true spirit of the evangelist, Philip, as he set out again 
for his home at Csesarea, stopped at Azotus on the coast, about twenty 
miles north of Gaza, and at the other towns on his way and preached 
the Gospel at every point until he finally carried it to his home 
city. 

V. The Spread of Christianity to Antioch. The interest of 
the author of Acts 2^-15^^ in Paul and Peter led him to introduce im- 
mediately after the story of Philip's baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch 
the accounts of the way in which these two leading apostles were di- 
vinely led to see that God's gracious purpose included Gentiles as well 
as Jews. In developing the symmetrical plan of his history, the author 
recorded the mission of the apostles first to the Jews, then to the 
Samaritans, then to the Gentiles. Out of deference to Paul and Peter 
and in keeping with his point of view, it was also natural that he 
should give Paul and Peter the precedence; although Acts 9^^ plainly 
states that the events underlying the account of Peter's vision and 
baptism of the Roman centiu-ion Cornelius were not immediately after 
the death of Stephen but during a period of peace, after the church 
had been extended widely *'all over Judea, Galilee, and Samaria." 
Fortunately, however, Luke has cited definite evidence of what Paul 
states in his letter to the Galatians {cf. 2^- ^), namely, that the pioneer 
in proclaiming Jesus to the Gentiles was not Peter. It was not even 
Paul but certain Hellenistic Christians, natives of Cyprus and Cyrene, 
who at Antioch, soon after the death of Stephen, " told the Greeks also 
the Gospel of the Lord Jesus." This reading is supported by ex- 
cellent texts and is clearly implied by the context, although in the 
accepted version it reads Hellenists (Greek-speaking Jews) instead of 
Hellenes (Greeks). Probably Luke wrote Hellenists, although his 

63 



THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 

source read Hellenes. It was this significant step in the extension of 
Christianity to the whole world which led the author to add in Acts 
11^2- ^ that, when the news of this preaching of the Gospel to the 
Gentiles reached the church in Jerusalem "they despatched Barnabas 
to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God he rejoiced and 
encouraged them all to remain loyal to the Lord with hearty pur- 
pose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith." The 
narrator has apparently forgotten for the moment that Barnabas was 
a Hellenist and therefore among those who had fled from Jerusalem 
after Stephen's martyrdom. ^ The next verse, evidently quoted from an 
early source, states that "Barnabas went off to Tarsus to look for 
Saul." Barnabas was the leading spirit in the Antioch church. It is 
exceedingly probable that this Cypriot was the leader of "the citizens 
of Cyprus" who first preached the Gospel to the Greeks. Lucius, an- 
other leader at Antioch, was a native of Cyrene (Acts 13^). To these 
generous, noble-hearted Hellenistic Jews, Barnabas and Lucius, be- 
yond reasonable doubt belongs the honor of first breaking the bonds 
of Judaism and of establishing the important precedents which Paul 
later made an accepted principle. 

While Jerusalem was the first home of Christianity, profligate, cos- 
mopolitan Antioch was the birthplace and cradle of Gentile Cbj-is- 
tianity from w^hich it radiated to all the great cities of the Grasco- 
Roman world. It is significant that here the followers of Jesus, who 
had hitherto called themselves "brothers" or "believers" or *'the 
saints" and by the Jews had been known as the "Nazarenes" or "the 
sect of the Nazarenes," were first called Christians. The presence of 
Greeks in the ranks of the new sect called for a broader designation. 
The term is akin to those which the Greeks of Asia coined to designate 
different parties, so that there is little doubt of its Hellenistic and 
Antiochian origin. It also indicates that the Christians of Antioch 
used the Greek language (for Christ is the Greek equivalent of the 
Hebrew word Messiah) and that the doctrine that Jesus was the 
promised Messiah was a distinctive element in their teaching. 

Thus within less than five years after the death of Jesus his teachings 
had overleaped the narrow bounds of Judaism and Palestine and were 
the accepted rule of life for a large body of Gentiles as well as Jews 
in the ancient capital city of Antiochus Epiphanes, the arch-persecutor 
of the Jewish race. From the first the Antioch church appears to 
have been strong in numbers and leadership and to have almost over- 
shadowed the Jerusalem community. The gifts of the Antioch Chris- 

64 



CHRISTIANITY AT ANTIOCH 

tians at the time of the great famine of 46 a.d. still further strengthened 
their position. 

VI. The Persecution of the Jerusalem Christians by Herod 
Agrippa I. Luke or an earlier editor has arranged his material in 
Acts 9-12 not chronologically but according to a definite plan. Thus 
the account of the famine of 46 a.d. is introducted in II27-29 before the 
record in 12^'^^ of the persecutions instigated by Herod Agrippa, which 
culminated in the death of James the apostle, probably at the Passover 
of 44 A.D. The editor's object is to complete his history of the Jerusalem 
church that he may devote the remainder of his narrative to a detailed 
account of Paul's missionary work. He also aims to give to the apostle 
Peter the prominence that he deemed fitting. To this end he intro- 
duces the popular stories in Acts 9^^-11^^, which represent Peter as a 
pioneer in proclaiming the Gospel to the Gentiles, before the record of 
Paul's first missionary campaign. 

The first persecution of the Christians was about 32 a.d. and was 
directed chiefly against the Hellenistic Christians. In the second 
persecution of 44 the chief victims were the Twelve and especially 
James, the son of Zebedee, and Peter. The years 41-44 were a bright 
spot in the otherwise gloomy, tempestuous history of Judaism under 
the rule of Rome. Among the profligate princes who had been edu- 
cated at the imperial city was a son of Aristobulus, the ill-fated off- 
spring of the marriage of Herod the Great with Mariamne the Mac- 
cabean princess. Herod Agrippa I was therefore not only a grandson 
of Herod the Great but also a prince of the Jewish royal line. As a 
youth at Rome, he had plunged deeply into all forms of vice which 
that great city presented. At forty he was bankrupt and in extreme 
disfavor even with the dissolute emperor Tiberius. To escape im- 
prisonment for his debts and for his crimes, he fled to Palestine and 
through the intercession of his wife was saved from starvation by his 
relative, Herod Antipas, who appointed him superintendent of mar- 
kets at Tiberias. He soon incurred the suspicion of Antipas and fled 
to Damascus, where he was caught in the act of accepting graft from 
its citizens. Thence he returned to Rome, where he was soon thrown 
into prison by the Emperor Tiberius, but on the accession of Caligula 
he was made king over the tetrarchy of Philip. When Claudius, 
Agrippa's boon companion, came to the throne in 41, he not only 
showed special favor to the Jews, giving them full rights as citizens 
and many privileges, but paid a debt that he owed Agrippa by giving 
him all the territory in Palestine once held by his grandfather, Herod 

65 



THE EXPANSION OF CHRISTIANITY 

the Great. To this concession he added the right of appointing the 
high priest at Jerusalem. Although a Hellenist and immoral at heart, 
Herod Agrippa assumed while at Jerusalem the role of an apostle of 
strict Pharisaic Judaism. His zeal to figure as the champion of his 
people led him to attack Christianity and to kill James the apostle. 
Peter was also thrown into prison, but he was probably not put to 
death because of his well-known regard for Jewish law and institutions. 
James, the brother of Jesus, who was a still more ardent supporter of 
the Jewish law, was apparently not even imprisoned. The weight of 
Herod's persecution seems to have fallen simply upon the leaders of 
the Jerusalem church. 

Acts 12^-^^ contains the popular account of Peter's remarkable escape 
from prison. The form of the story is probably determined by the 
current Jewish belief that each man had his own guardian angel which 
interposed in his behalf at critical moments in his life. The detailed 
character of the narrative leaves little doubt that it rests on historical 
facts and that Peter was enabled, to the utter surprise of his fellow 
Christians, to make his escape from Jerusalem on the night preceding 
the day set for his trial before Herod Agrippa. Possibly the angel 
of death that smote Herod was the divine agent that liberated Peter. 
In any case, the sudden death of Agrippa at Csesarea put an end to the 
persecution of the Jerusalem Christians by the Jews, for Judea again 
came under the control of a Roman procurator. Herod paid the 
penalty for his earlier vices while attending one of the great Hellenic 
games which he had instituted at his capital and of which he was 
very fond. 

VII. Peter's Changed Attitude Toward the Gentiles. The 
narrative in Acts 12 indicates that Peter fled from Jerusalem and 
probably took refuge in some city outside the large kingdom which 
Herod Agrippa then ruled. Antioch with its strong Christian church 
would be the most natural place of refuge. Unfortunately, the nar- 
rative in Acts leaves many gaps which can be filled in only conjectur- 
ally. It is probable, however, that when the sudden death of Herod 
Agrippa put an end for a time to the active persecution of the Jeru- 
salem Christians Peter ventured to return to the borders of Palestine 
and to take up his abode at Joppa. There he would naturally come 
into contact with Gentiles and Gentile Christians and was subject 
to the broadening influences of an important seaport town. There 
he faced the great Western world even as Paul later did at Troas. It 
is probable, therefore, that the combined influence of his recent per- 

66 



PETER'S ATTITUDE TOWARD THE GENTILES 

sonal experience, his contact with the Greek Christians at Antioch, 
and his new appreciation of the needs of the Graeco-Roman world 
were all effective in preparing the way for the vision recorded in the 
terms of popular tradition in Acts 10 and 11. Doubtless the problem 
was presented to him in concrete form in the person of the Roman 
centurion Cornelius. The narrative in Acts implies that Cornelius, 
Uke the Ethiopian eunuch, was already a sympathizer with, if not a 
proselyte to Judaism. It is possible that he had listened to the preach- 
ing of Philip the Evangelist, whose home was at Csesarea, and that 
Peter with his characteristic zeal and good sense could no longer re- 
sist this appeal, although it was contrary to all his earlier Jewish train- 
ing. In the minds of Luke and of the Palestinian Christians, among 
whom this tradition grew up, this change in Peter's attitude was 
evidently regarded as pre-eminently important. In the larger per- 
spective of apostolic history it was one of the many indubitable proofs 
of the potency and universality of the Gospel of Jesus and of its abil- 
ity, not only to transform the minds and characters of the Gentiles, 
but to broaden those who were rigorously trained under the Jewish law. 
VIII. The Limitations and Significance of Early Palestinian 
Christianity. There is much that is discouraging in the develop- 
ment of the Jerusalem church and of the Palestinian Christianity 
which grew up about it. Most of the members of the Jerusalem 
chm"ch appear to have sunk into poverty and to have been largely 
dependent for subsistence upon the gifts of the Western churches. 
In their thinking and life they were still largely bound by the fetters 
of Judaism and shared to a great extent the series of calamities which 
overtook the Jews of Palestine and culminated, in 70 a.d., in the 
destruction of the temple. The Jewish persecution had also driven 
from the capital city the virile leaders in the Christian chm'ch, leaving 
it sadly depleted. One great and inestimable service, however, was 
performed by the Jewish Christians who still clung to the temple and 
to places so full of rich associations: they collected and faithfully 
preserved the records of the teachings and deeds of Jesus. Without 
this service Christianity would have gone forth to its world-task sadly 
handicapped. If the Jewish Christians of Palestine failed to appreci- 
ate the larger significance of the work and teachings of Jesus, they 
faithfully cherished the words and memories of the great Teacher and 
in so doing have transmitted to us those vivid portraits of the his- 
torical Jesus without which Christianity would lack a definite, con- 
crete historical foundation. 

67 



PAUL'S WORK AND TEACHINGS 

§CL. PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING AND CONVERSION 

Paul's I am a Jew, bom at Tarsus of Cilicia, brought up in this 
g5)n^^" city, educated at the feet of GamaUel in the strictness of 
<^cts our ancestral laws, zealous for God. 

You know the story of my past career in Judaism. You 
^i^s^^^ know how bitterly I persecuted the church of God and 
his ra- made havoc of it and how in zeal for my ancestral traditions 
tradi- I surpassed many of my own age and race. I indeed be- 
(Qaf lieved it was my duty to do many things in opposition to 
ii».^s* the name of Jesus the Nazarene. This I did in Jerusalem. 
26^u) Armed with authority from the high priests, I shut up many 
of the saints in prison. When they were about to be put 
to death, I voted against them. In all the synagogues I 
often punished them and forced them to blaspheme, and 
in my insane fury I persecuted them even to foreign cities. 
His vi- I was travelling to Damascus on this business with author- 
jeSiS^ ity and a commission from the high priest, when at mid- 
26i*?it ^^Y oJi ^^^ J^oad I saw a Ught from heaven more dazzling 
Qai. ' than the sun flash aroimd me and those who were trav- 
*"'"*^ elling with me. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a 
voice sajdng to me in Hebrew, * Saul, Saul, why dost thou 
persecute me? It is painful for thee to kick against the 
goad.* *Who art thou?' I asked, and the Lord said, *I 
am Jesus and thou art persecuting me. Now arise and 
stand on thy feet, for I appeared to thee in order to ap- 
point thee to my service as a witness of what thou hast 
seen and of the visions thou wilt have of me. I will de- 
liver thee from the Jewish people and also from the Gen- 
tiles, to whom I send thee, that their eyes may be opened 
and that they may turn from darkness to light, from the 
power of Satan to God, in order that they may receive the 
forgiveness of their sins and an inheritance among those 

68 



[32, 33) 



PAUL'S VISION OF JESUS 

sanctified by faith to me.' Thus the God who had set me 
apart from my birth and called me by his grace chose to 
reveal his son in me that I might proclaim the good news 
concerning him to the Gentiles. 

Forthwith, instead of conferring with any htmian being His 
or going up to Jerusalem to see those who had been apos- ^ee 
ties before me, I went off into Arabia, and I came back years 
again to Damascus. Then I proceeded to preach first to i^b^", 
those at Damascus. At Damascus the ethnarch of King 262^,11 
Aretas set guards in the city of the Damascenes to arrest for' 
me, but I was lowered in a basket through the wall and so 
escaped from his hands. 

Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to become 
acquainted with Cephas (Peter). I remained a fortnight 
witii him. I saw no other apostle except James the brother 
of the Lord. I swear to you before God that I am telling 
the truth in what I write to you. 

Then I went to the districts of Syria and Cilicia. I was work 
personally quite unknown to the Christian churches of sWia 
Judea; they only heard that * our former persecutor is now ^^la 
preaching the faith of which he once made havoc,' which (^-=«) 
made them praise God for me. 

I. Paul's Inheritance. "A man small in size, baldheaded, 
bandy-legged, well built, with eyebrows meeting, rather long nose, 
and with motions full of grace" — such is the traditional description 
in the late Christian story of Paul and Thecla of the man who, next 
to Jesus, has done more than any to shape the religious faith of the 
human race. The familiar passage in II Corinthians 4' implies that in 
appearance Paul was weak and insignificant. At Lystra he was wor- 
shipped as Hermes, the small, beardless god. The reference in II 
Corinthians 12^^ indicates that he was the victim of some chronic disease, 
which he dramatically describes as "a thorn in the flesh." Galatians 6^ 
suggests that it was an affliction of the eyes: "See with what letters 
I am writing to you with my own hand." This implication is con- 
firmed by the fact that otherwise Paul apparently always dictated 
rather than wrote his letters. Furthermore, in referring to his illness 
in his letter to the Galatian Christians he writes: '*I can testify that 
you would have torn out your very eyes, if you could, and given them 
to me." From his statement that "my flesh was a trial to you" it 



PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING 

would seem that intense sick headaches was one of the accompanying 
symptoms of his eye trouble. This was probably "the stake in the 
flesh" to which he elsewhere refers. Thus it would appear that Paul's 
physical inheritance was insignificant. It was indeed a fragile "earthen 
vessel " in which his indomitable spirit abode. 

Paul was probably born about the same time as Jesus. His family 
belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. He himself bore the Je\v4sh name 
of Saul, Israel's first great king. His Roman.name was Paulus, or Paul. 
In the book of Acts this is used uniformly and appropriately as soon 
as the description of his active mission to the Graeco-Roman world 
begins. He evidently sprang from the well-to-do working class. 
His spontaneous interests were with the manual laborers rather than 
with the rich or learned. His father doubtless taught him his trade 
of tent-maker. Weaving the wool of the Cilician goats and making 
it into tents was an important industry for the inhabitants of Tarsus. 
From Acts 23^^ we learn that Paul had a married sister and a nephew at 
Jerusalem, ^ike Jeremiah, he declares in Galatians 1^^- ^^: "It was the 
good pleasure of God that separated me from my mother's womb and 
called me through his grace and revealed his Son in me." The Jewish 
colony at Tarsus, like most of the similar communities in the great 
cities of the eastern Mediterranean, was a small Jewish world in it- 
self in the midst of the complex Greek and pagan civilization which 
surrounded it. Here the youthful Saul grew up a strict Jew, familiar 
with all the customs of his race and zealous for its institutions. 

II. Paul's Personality. Paul possessed a versatile, mercurial 
temperament. He was subject to frequent reactions, but, on the 
whole, his spirit was that of buoyant optimism. In his religious life 
he was a mystic, given to frequent visions, wliich to a great extent 
determined his thought and action; and yet in his teachings and 
methods of work he was intensely practical. To his versatility and 
remarkable adaptability was added the characteristic persistency of 
his race. Nothing in heaven or earth could deter him from the reali- 
zation of his purpose. Over burning deserts and bleak mountain 
passes, through perils of sea and perils of land he goaded on his weak 
body until he made it his obedient slave (I Cor. 9^^). 

In his letters and in his acts he shows himself not only courageous, 
strong, and enthusiastic but a hard fighter, whenever he was sure that 
he had a just case. He was absolutely fearless and outspoken in his 
denunciation of corruption and wrong-doing of every kind. He was 
governed by a high sense of personal honor and an intense moral 

70 



PAUL'S PERSONALITY 

earnestness/ Like the great earlier prophets of his race, he was ready 
for the sake of the cause which he served to give up everything: fam- 
ily, wealth, reputation, scholarship, ease. He deliberately chose 
arduous toil, privation, taunts, and danger, and at times active per- 
secution and ultimate death rather than be disloyal to the highest 
interests of the Master whom he served. Through certain of his more 
personal letters it is possible to look into the very soul of the man. 
There we find a playful humor, warm feelings, deep sympathies,, and 
strong friendships. Love is the impelling power. As he declares: 
"Love it is that constrains me." With these emotional qualities Paul 
combined a splendid organizing abihty. He was unquestionably the 
greatest statesman of the primitive Christian church. Broad in his 
grasp of the w^orld situation and master of details as well as of men, 
able to execute as well as to plan — the present generation is beginning 
to realize that Paul was even greater in his personahty and work than 
in his teachings. 
^ ni. Paul's Early Environment at Tarsus. Paul shows clearly 
the influence of the many and varied educational forces with which 
he came in contact during his diversified career. He ever remained a 
Hebrew of the Hebrews; but to the powerful racial influences which 
surrounded the young Jew of Tarsus were added those of the cosmo- 
politan city in which he was born. This great metropoUs of fully half 
a million inhabitants was situated on the River Cydnus, ten miles 
north from the coast, under the shadow of the Taurus mountains, 
which rise to the north. It commanded the famous southern gateway 
to Asia Minor which led northward through the Cilician passes. 
Tarsus was by virtue of its natural situation a great commercial and 
intellectual centre, where the ideas and civilization of the East and 
West met and mingled as in no other Mediterranean city, except 
possibly in Ephesus. It contained an exceedingly enterprising, cos- 
mopolitan population, in close touch with all the Roman world, ex- 
ceedingly proud, as was Paul, of their Roman citizenship. It was 
also the seat of a great university, which for generations had been an 
important centre of Stoic and Cynic philosophy. Strabo's list of the 
famous philosophers who had either been born or who had studied 
here is a long one. Chrysippus, the great Stoic, was a native of Tarsus, 
and the teacher of Cleanthes, whose noble utterance Paul aptly quoted 
in his famous address at Athens before the court of the Areopagus. The 
Stoic philosopher Athenadorus, the teacher and friend of Augustus, 
had been appointed by his royal patron ruler of his native city, Tarsus. 

71 



j 



PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING 

The principles which guided him in his effective rule are quoted by 
Seneca {Concerning the Peaceful Mind, III): *'So it is requisite for us 
in order to prepare our minds for the managing of the civic affairs, to 
be always active. For if one is determined to make himself useful to 
his fellow citizens, yea, and to all men, one accomplishes two things 
at once. He who places himself at the centre of affairs and admin- 
isters them according to his faculties benefits both the public interests 
and his own affairs." Nestor, also a well-known philosopher, suc- 
ceeded Athenadorus and was probably at the head of the govern- 
ment at Tarsus during Paul's boyhood. The University of Tarsus 
was chiefly attended by natives of that city. This seat of learning 
apparently exerted a powerful influence not only upon the govern- 
ment but upon the life and thought of all the citizens. They were 
famous for their ability to speak on practically any subject Tvdthout 
previous preparation. Strabo declares: "Even the natives do not 
remain but travel abroad to complete their studies, and having com- 
pleted them reside in foreign countries" (XIV, 5^^- ^'*). Tarsus to a 
unique degree produced citizens of the world and sent forth many 
itinerant preachers of the Stoic and Cynic philosophies. These facts 
shed a new light on Paul's declaration: "I am debtor both to the 
Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish" 
(Rom. 1^^). It is clear, however, that although he was indirectly 
and inevitably influenced by the intellectual and cultural environ- 
ment in which he spent his early youth, the attitude of the young 
Jew of Tarsus toward Greek learning was, on the whole, one of dis- 
trust, if not contempt. The Judaism of the dispersion was always self- 
sufficient. Though a part of the Graeco-Roman world, the Jews 
stood apart. Hence, the most powerful influences in Paul's early 
youth were unquestionably those of his Jewish home. As at Jesus* 
home at Nazareth, the traditions and laws of his race were closely 
interwoven with the every-day life of the family. Among the earliest 
words which fell upon his childish ears were those which voiced Israel's 
confession of faith: ''Hear, O Israel, for the Lord our God is one Lord." 
Every waking hour was filled with reminders of his people's remark- 
able past and of the presence of the supreme Ruler and Father whom 
they revered. His studies in the local synagogue school, to which he 
probably went at about the age of seven, further intensified the strong 
religious influence of his home. Here he was probably taught He- 
brew and Aramaic, although most of his quotations from the Old 
Testament come from the Greek version, which was by this time in 

72 



PAUL'S ENVIRONMENT AT TARSUS 

common use among the Jews of the dispersion. His words in Galatians 
1^^ strongly suggest that, although he was taught the trade of tent- 
making, from his earliest childhood he was consecrated by his parents 
to the rabbinate. This conclusion is confirmed by his appearance in 
Jerusalem a little later. Thus from his boyhood years the conscious- 
ness of a definite calling gave an especial interest and objective to all 
his studies. It doubtless also exerted a powerful influence on his 
daily life so that he was able to declare that as regards the righteous- 
ness which was in the law he was blameless (Phil. 3^"^). 

IV. Paul's Training at Jerusalem. Probably at about the 
age of fifteen Paul went to Jerusalem to complete his preparation as 
a rabbi. In the Jewish world Jerusalem was the great central uni- 
versity, the home of advanced religious study. It was to Judaism 
what Athens had long been to the Grseco-Roman world. The breadth 
of Paul's home training is indicated by the fact that he went to sit at 
the feet of Gamaliel, the most progressive and prominent Jewish teacher 
of his age. This famous rabbi is said to have been the grandson of 
Hillel. He was then the head of the liberal school which that great 
teacher had founded. He it was who said: "Appoint for yourself a 
teacher; thus you will avoid what is doubtful." He was one of the 
very few Jewish teachers who dared depart from the traditions of his 
race and make use of Greek literature. In Paul's earlier years the 
master was probably much broader and more tolerant than his dis- 
ciple, but his example later bore rich fruit in the memorable address 
on the Areopagus. In the schools of Jerusalem Paul was instructed 
not only in the current interpretations of the scriptures of his race 
but also in the peculiar rabbinical methods which he frequently used in 
his later discourses and letters. These methods were intuitive rather 
than logical; often fanciful rather than inductive. Real or imaginary 
analogies were employed more often than strictly scientific processes 
of reasoning. Allegorical interpretations were freely adopted, even 
though they had no support in the original. Paul's tendency to employ 
these methods explains many of the most troublesome passages in his 
epistles, for notwithstanding his complete conversion to the principles 
of Christianity, he ever remained in his methods of thought an oriental 
Jew. 

V. Paul's Zeal as a Persecutor. It was not only the teaching 
which he received in Jerusalem but its atmosphere which powerfully 
affected Paul. There he became a Pharisee of the Pharisees (cf. 
Phil. 3^ for his own testimony). In him the intense devotion, the 

73 



PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING 

aspiration, the zeal, and the intolerance of his race was sublimated. 
His was also in part the zeal and intolerance of youth. These were 
strengthened by his own natural characteristics. He never did any- 
thing half-way. The result was that, according to his own testimony, 
Paul, the youthful candidate for the rabbinate, became the ardent 
persecutor of the Galilean sect which had suddenly taken root not 
only in Jerusalem but also in certain other Syrian cities. In him the 
Sadducean high priests, Ananus and Caiaphas, ever suspicious of this 
sect with its messianic leanings, found a valuable agent. They ap- 
pear to have given him an open commission to accuse of blasphemy — 
a capital offense in the Jewish law — any whom he might suspect. 
Unfortunately, Paul gives no details concerning the inner develop- 
ment which resulted thus tragically. The account of Stephen's work 
and martyrdom implies that he first came into contact with the fol- 
lowers of Jesus in the open discussions led by Stephen in the sjTiagogues 
of the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem. As has been already noted, the 
report of Stephen's speech in Acts 7 suggests the nature of these dis- 
cussions. The rabbinical methods employed in interpreting the Old 
Testament scriptures were accepted as valid by Paul as well as by 
Stephen. The great question at issue, the character, work, and ap- 
pearance of the promised Messiah, was of the keenest interest to every 
member of the Pharisaic party. About it were focused their most 
cherished political and social and religious hopes. In the light of our 
later knowledge of Paul, it requires little imagination to picture the 
fiery zeal with which he entered into these discussions. The claim of 
Stephen and of the other followers of Jesus that he was indeed the 
Messiah seemed not only preposterous but blasphemous. There is 
no clear evidence that Paul had ever seen Jesus in the flesh. The 
references in his letters are evidently to his spiritual vision. He had 
doubtless often heard about Jesus and his work from the Pharisees 
who had dogged the footsteps of the Galilean Teacher; and their re- 
ports would be far from favorable. It was the very leaven of the 
Pharisees, against which Jesus had so earnestly warned his disciples, 
that filled the mind of Paul. Jesus' critical attitude toward much 
of the Mosaic law and especially toward the traditions of the fathers 
was enough in itself to condemn him in the eyes of an enthusiastic 
young Pharisee. Instinctive antagonism explains why Paul, even if 
he had the opportunity to see and hear Jesus, probably never im- 
proved it. So to one like Paul, familiar with the Deuteronomic law, 
which declared that "he who is hanged is accused of God" (Deut. 

74 



PAUL'S ZEAL AS A PERSECUTOR 

21^) Jesus' ignominious death was in itself absolute proof of the flagrant 
impiety as well as folly of those who claimed that he was the Messiah. 
That this very passage was earlier one of Paul's chief stumbling- 
blocks is indicated by the way in which he refers to it in his letter to 
the Galatians (3^^' ^*). To their seeming impiety the followers of Jesus 
added the still more blasphemous claim that he yet lived and had been 
exalted to the right hand of God, and they adduced as proof the as- 
tonishing statement that since his crucifixion he had repeatedly ap- 
peared to them. The old law of Deuteronomy seemed to point the 
way of duty very clearly to Paul: "If thy brother, the son of thy 
mother, or thy son, or thy daughter or the wife of thy bosom, or thy 
friend, who is as thy own life, teach heresy, thou shalt not listen to 
him nor pity him, but thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first 
upon him to put him to death and afterward the hand of all the 
people. And thou shalt stone him to death with stones." To one 
who was taught to believe, as were the disciples of the rabbis, that "he 
who asserts that the law is not from Heaven has no part in the future 
world," the conmiand of God seemed clear though its execution was 
repugnant to all the best impulses implanted in the heart of man. 
Some such process of thought alone explains why the naturally kind- 
hearted, impulsive, conscientious Jew of Tarsus became an arch-per- 
secutor of the humble followers of Jesus. Possibly the bitter heat 
engendered by the discussions in the synagogue of the Cilicians also 
explains why Paul first consented to the stoning of Stephen, the leader 
of the opposition, and then, having thus conunitted himself to an 
extreme position, threw himself into the persecution with his char- 
acteristic vehemence. 

VI. The Four Accounts of PauPs Conversion. It is significant 
that the New Testament contains four variant accounts of what was in 
its far-reaching consequences the most important event in the history 
of the early Christian church. The author of Acts has preserved 
three of them, although no one agrees with another in all details. 
Here the analogies are close with the stories which gather about the 
important events of Old Testament history, as, for example, Moses' 
prophetic call or the exodus from Egypt. The oldest account is the 
briefest and comes directly from Paul: "God, who set me apart from 
my birth and called me by his grace, chose to reveal his Son in me 
that I might proclaim the good news concerning him to the Gentiles" 
(Gal. 1^^' ^^). To this he adds in connection with his account of the res- 
urrection visions of Jesus in I Corinthians (15^"^) : "And last of all, as to 

75 



PAUL'S CONVERSION 

a child untimely born, he appeared to me also." Paul's words leave 
no doubt that his conversion was a real spiritual experience, as is evinced 
by his changed activity and attitude. The account in Acts 26 is evi- 
dently the oldest of the three traditions presented by Luke. It agrees 
substantially with Paul's own testimony, but it makes the revelation 
more objective. The time and place are indicated and, as in the ac- 
count of the call of Isaiah or Jeremiah, the divine revelation takes 
the form of a dialogue. The entirely new element is the statement 
that a marvellous flashing light was seen not only by Paul but also by 
his companions. The second account in Acts 22 agrees substantially 
with that in Acts 26, except that it states that, while Paul's companions 
saw the light, they did not hear the voice that spoke to him. It also 
adds that Paul was divinely commanded to go to Damascus, where 
he would be told what he was destined to do and that this promise was 
fulfilled through the instrumentality of a certain Ananias, who bap- 
tized him and in the presence of whom he regained his lost sight. It 
also states that he returned to Jerusalem, where he had another divine 
vision and a renewal of his commission to go to the Gentiles. The 
third account in Acts 9 is evidently in part a composite of the two 
accounts in 22 and 26. It differs, however, in stating that Paul's 
companions heard the divine voice but saw no one. It adds that a 
special vision was vouchsafed Ananias very similar to that attributed 
to Peter in Acts 10. It also states that after conducting an active 
mission in Damascus he went up to Jerusalem and entered into open 
discussions with the Hellenistic Jews. Paul's own testimony, however, 
is that he remained but fifteen days in Jerusalem and saw no apostle 
except Peter and James, the brother of Jesus. The minor variations 
in these versions indicate clearly that in the later tradition imagination 
has furnished many details. The tendency in each succeeding genera- 
tion was to interpret Paul's inner vision more objectively and super- 
naturally. 

VII. Paul's Transforming Psychological Experience. Paul 
and the early Christian historians inevitably described his conversion 
in terms of the first-century psychology and belief. Greek and Roman, 
as well as Jew, then firmly believed that the spirit of the departed 
could become visible to the human eye and exert a powerful influence 
in the affairs of men (c/. Morley, Greek and Roman Ghost Stories). 
They also believed that the gods could enter in and dwell in men 
and direct their thoughts and words and acts. Thus they interpreted 
the acts of the priestess at the Delphic oracle and the ecstatic deeds 

76 



PAUL'S TRANSFORMING EXPERIENCE 

and utterances of the devotees of the various mystery reUgions. This 
idea was aheady an established tenet in Judaism, as well as in other 
oriental religions. While these beliefs naturally determine the form 
in which Paul describes his experience, they do not conceal the ulti- 
mate reality. The task of the modern age is to interpret it into the 
terms of present-day psychology. In his epistles, and especially 
Romans, Paul throws much light upon the inner struggle that pre- 
ceded his conversion. In the first eight chapters of Romans he tells of 
the bitter dissatisfaction which came to him when he discovered that 
even the law which he so ardently championed could not free him from 
sin. In the face of the dying Stephen he saw reflected the peace and 
joy which he himself passionately coveted. The fierce zeal with which 
he persecuted the Christians suggests the acts of a fanatic, dimly con- 
scious of the weakness of his position. Like a refractory ox, he was 
kicking against the goad. Not being an ox but an intelligent being, 
the knowledge of how unreasonable was his action only added to his 
fury. Moreover, Paul was not governed primarily by his intellect 
but by his intuition and emotions. The devotion and forbearance of 
Stephen and of other Christian martyrs, who followed his heroic ex- 
ample, undoubtedly appealed powerfully and in the end irresistibly to 
the naturally tender heart of Paul. Here was something that Phar- 
isaism lacked. Could it be that the teacher, in loyalty to whom his 
followers serenely faced death, was indeed the promised Saviour of 
the race? Was the way of the cross, after all, the way of salvation? 
If, as his disciples claimed, Jesus still lived, then he had indeed broken 
the power of the ancient curse upon any one that hangs upon a tree 
and had the unmistakable approval of God himself. Such thoughts 
must have been in the mind of Paul when the great transformation 
came to him. Later tradition is probably right in stating that this 
came suddenly. This rapid transformation was in perfect keeping 
with Paul's temperament and character. It is closely analogous to 
the epoch-making moments in the life of the ancient prophets like 
Isaiah and Jeremiah. It came as a sudden, marvellous vision of the 
crucified and risen Lord. What the disciples had seen, Paul now be- 
held. Possibly in keeping with the psychology of his day, he himself 
believed that he saw and heard a visible, objective personality. Cer- 
tainly those to whom he related his experience soon believed that he 
had. But the essential fact in Paul's experience was, as he declares, 
that God "had revealed his son in him." Henceforth the Spirit of 
Jesus became the abiding, guiding force in Paul's life. All of his sub- 

77 



PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING 

sequent career bears testimony to the reality of this fact. He clearly 
had in mind his own transforming experience when he declared: "We 
all with unveiled face, reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, are 
transformed into the same likeness as himself from glory to glory." To 
a man with Paul's earnest, devoted spirit, such a revelation was an 
imperative, divine call to service, "for God who said, 'Let light shine 
out of darkness,' has shone within my heart to illuminate men with 
the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Christ." Paul also saw 
further than Jesus' disciples, for he recognized that through him the 
old law was set aside and a new way of finding God and the richness 
of life was provided for Gentile as well as Jew. Paul's personal in- 
terests, as well as the divine will, impelled him to proclaim that Gospel 
to the great world that lay outside of Palestine which he knew so 
well and which, like himself, was craving and seeking for that fellow- 
ship with the eternal Father, that sense of brotherhood with the human 
race, and that ideal of service which Jesus had not only taught but 
realized. 

VIII. PauVs First Fifteen Years of Missionary Activity. The 
narrative of Acts is almost silent regarding the fifteen years immedi- 
ately following Paul's conversion. The chief interest of the writers 
which Luke quotes regarding this period is in the Jerusalem church 
and the authority of the apostles. Luke does cite certain traditions 
which represent Paul as working at Jerusalem in conjunction with the 
apostles, but this is belied by Paul's own testimony. The one point 
in which Luke's evidence is supported by that of Paul is that he labored 
during the latter part of this period in his native province of Cilicia. 
Meagre though his allusions are, Paul is practically our only informant 
regarding these early years. From the references in his epistles it is 
possible to develop at least the order of events with reasonable as- 
surance. Paul's conversion must have taken place before 36 a.d., 
when Caiaphas was deposed. The year 33, three or four years after the 
death of Jesus, is a most probable date. Three years he appears to 
have worked in the neighborhood of Damascus before his expulsion 
by the ethnarch of the Arabian king Aretas IV. The exact way in 
which this was accomplished and the extent of the power of Aretas are 
not known. Paul's hasty, secret visit to Peter at Jerusalem evidently 
followed closely after his escape from Damascus. The next important 
conference with Peter fourteen years later (Gal. 2^) would therefore 
be about 47 a.d., immediately before his first missionary campaign. 
This conclusion in perfect harmony with the data in Acts, which in- 

78 



PAUL'S FIRST FIFTEEN YEARS OF ACTIVITY 

dicates that 46 was the year spent by Paul at Antioch before he set out 
on that campaign. 

The period of retirement in Arabia was clearly a period of recon- 
struction, spent not with men or apostles, but alone with God. Then 
Paul adjusted himself to his new vision of Jesus and to his new task. 
Immediately after this he began his missionary work in Damascus, 
preaching undoubtedly to Gentiles as well as Jews. That he did so 
and that his work met with some success alone explain the attempt 
of the ethnarch of the Arabian king to arrest him. The two weeks 
spent quietly at Jerusalem with Peter and James, the brother of Jesus, 
gave to an alert, devoted disciple like Paul a marvellous opportunity 
to become intimately acquainted with the facts regarding the life 
and especially with the teachings of Jesus. It, as well as later inter- 
views, furnishes the explanation of that consciousness of speaking on 
the basis of Jesus' direct authority which is evident throughout Paul's 
letters. 

The next twelve years were devoted to missionary work in Syria 
and Cilicia. Gradually Paul worked back to his native city Tarsus. 
These years appear to have been rich in experience. In II Corinthians 
(11^-27) he has given a word-picture of the trials and deeds of heroism 
which belong chiefly to these years: '*I have often been at the point 
of death. Five times I have received forty lashes (all but one) from 
the Jews, three times have I been beaten; once I was stoned, three 
times shipwrecked; I have been adrift on the sea a night and a day, 
in many journeys, in perils from rivers, in perils from robbers, in perils 
from Jews and Gentiles, in peril of town and desert, in perils on the 
sea, in perils among false brothers, through labor and hardships, through 
many a sleepless night, through hunger and thirst, often starving, 
cold and ill-clad." It was in this school of strenuous, heroic service 
that the world's greatest missionary M'^as trained. During these 
arduous years Paul does not seem to have met with large success. 
Nowhere in his letters does he refer to the results of this work. At 
least it was not sufficient to arouse the alarm of the conservative Jewish 
Christians at Jerusalem. Only to their ears had come the vague, 
though cheering report that "our former persecutor is now preaching 
the faith of which he once made havoc." This early work was sig- 
nificant because it was an earnest of greater things. Like his Master, 
Paul found joy in the midst of pain and persecution. In II Corinthians 
(12^"^) he tells of one of the glorious visions that illumined his arduous 
way. He dates it about 40 a.d., when he was in the midst of his work 

79 



PAUL'S EARLY TRAINING 

in Syria and Cilicia. He declares that he was caught up into the 
third heaven. He frankly confesses that he does not know whether 
it was in the body or not that he was thus transported up to paradise, 
but he does know that he heard sacred secrets which no human lips 
can repeat. That this experience was to him of profound spiritual im- 
port is clear from the way in which he refers to it and from its effect 
upon him and upon his life-work. In the same connection he speaka 
of his superabundance of visions, indicating that these experiences 
were frequent. They reveal the mystical side of Paul's nature, that 
capacity for personal fellowship with God which was the perennial 
source of his power. The vivid consciousness of God working in and 
through him was the irresistible force that drove him on through 
seemingly insuperable obstacles and perils. Even though its mani- 
festations reflect the unscientific psychological ideas of the age, it was 
supremely vital and real to Paul and through him to the human race, 
for it meant personal redemption, liberty, and life. 

§ CLI. PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN 

Paul at Now Barnabas went off to Tarsus to try to find SauL 
^ch And when he found him, he brought him to Antioch, where 
(^cts for a whole year they were coimected with the church there 

and taught a large number of people. 
contri- During these days certain prophets came down from 
tothe^ Jerusalem to Antioch. One of whom, named Agabus, 
famish- showed by the Spirit that a great famine was about to come 
cSris; throughout the whole world (the famine which came in 
judei^ the reign of Claudius). So the disciples, each as he was 
(y" '". able, decided to send relief to the brothers Hving in Judea. 
This they did, sending their contributions to the elders by 
Barnabas and Saul. After Barnabas and Saul had per- 
formed their mission, they returned from Jerusalem bring- 
ing with them John, sumamed Mark. 
C9m- In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers, 
Sf bS^ Barnabas, Symeon (called Niger) and Lucius the Cyrenian, 
nabas besides Manaen (a playmate of Herod the tetrarch) and 
Saul as Saul. As they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the 
g^n- Holy Spirit said. Set me apart Barnabas and Saul for the 
aries^ work to which I have called them. Then after fasting and 
praying and laying their hands on them they let them go.' 

80 



WORK OF BARNABAS AND PAUL IN CYPRUS 

So they, being thus sent by the Holy Spirit, went down Their 
to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus. On ^^. 
reaching Salami's they proclaimed the word of God in the p^us 
Jewish synagogues, and they had John [Mark] as their 
assistant. And when they had gone through the whole is- 
land as far as Paphos, they met with a Jewish sorcerer and 
false prophet called Bar-Jesus; he was with the proconsul 
Sergius Paulus, an inteUigent man, who called for Barnabas 
and Saul and asked to hear the word of God. But Elymas 
the sorcerer (for that is the translation of his name) tried 
to divert the proconsul from the faith. So Saul (who is 
also called Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, looked in- 
tently at him and said. You son of the devil, you enemy of 
all that is right, full of craftiness and cunning, will you 
never stop diverting the straight paths of the Lord? See, 
even now the Lord's hand will fall on you, and you will 
be blind, unable for a time to see the sun. distantly a 
mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he groped about 
for someone to take him by the hand. Then the pro- 
consul, when he saw what had happened believed, being 
astoimded at the teaching of the Lord. 

Setting sail from Paphos, Paul and his companions came Jour- 
to Perga in Pamphylia. John left them and went back to ^.^ 
Jerusalem, but they, passing on from Perga, arrived at f^^^. 
Pisidian Antioch. 

On the sabbath they went into the S3magogue and sat Pauls 
down; and, after the reading of the law and the prophets, ?o*th? 
the rulers of the sjmagogue sent word to them, Brothers, ^^°^ 
if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say tioch 
it. So Paul stood up and, motioning with his hand, said, "^"^"''^ 
Listen, men of Israel and you who revere God. The God 
of this people Israel chose our fathers ; he made the people 
great during their stay in the land of Egypt and with uplifted 
arm led them out of it. For about forty years he fed them 
as a nursing mother in the desert, and after destroying 
seven nations in the land of Canaan, he gave them their 
land as an inheritance for about four hundred and fifty 
years. After that he gave them judges down to the time 
of the prophet Samuel. Then it was that they asked for 
a king, and God gave them for forty years Saul, the son of 

81 



PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN 

Kish, who belonged to the tribe of Benjamm. After de- 
posing him, he raised up David to be their king, to whom 
he bore this testimony: * In David the son of Jesse I have 
found a man after my own heart, who will obey all my 
will.* From his offspring God brought to Israel, as he had 
promised, a Saviour, even Jesus, before whose coming 
John had already preached a baptism of repentance for 
all the people of Israel. And as John was closing his 
career he often said. What do you consider that I am? I 
am not he. But there is one coming after me. I am not 
worthy to unloose the sandals on his feet! Brothers, sons 
of Abraham's race and all among you who revere God, the 
message of this salvation has been sent to us. The in- 
habitants of Jerusalem and their rulers, by condemning 
him in their ignorance, fulfilled the words of the prophets 
which are read every sabbath. Though they could find 
him guilty of no crime that deserved death, they asked 
Pilate to have him put to death. After they had carried 
out all that had been written of him, they took him down 
from the cross and laid him in a tomb. But God raised 
him from the dead. For many days he was seen by those 
who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem; 
they are now his witnesses to the people. And we preach 
to you the glad news that God hath fulfilled the promise 
made to our forefathers by raising up Jesus. As it is 
written in the second psalm: 

Thou art my son, 

To-day have I become thy father. 

And as a proof that he has raised him from the dead, never 
to return to corruption, he hath said, I will give you holy 
and trustworthy promises made to David; in another 
psalm he saith: 

For thou wilt not let thy Holy One see corruption. 

Of course David, after serving his own generation in 
accord with God's purpose, died and was laid beside his 
fathers; he saw corruption, but he whom God raised did 

82 



PAUL'S ADDRESS AT ANTIOCH 

not see corruption. Therefore you must imderstand, my 
brothers, that forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you 
through him, and that by him everyone who believes is 
absolved from all that the law of Moses could not absolve 
you. Beware then lest the prophetic saying appUes to you: 

Behold, ye who are disdainful, be astonished and perish, 
For in your days I am carrying out a work — 
A work which you will never beUeve, though one were to 
explain it to you. 

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people begged itsim- 

to have all this repeated to them on the following sabbath. ^^' 

And when the synagogue broke up, a number of the Jews effe^ 
and the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas who 
talked to them and urged them to hold fast to the grace 
of God. 

And on the next sabbath nearly all the city gathered to oppo- 

hear the word of the Lord. But when the Jews saw the Jft^^ 

crowds, they were filled with jealousy; they began to con- Jews^ 

tradict what Paul said and to abuse him. So Paul and p?ocia^ 

Barnabas spoke out boldly. The word of God, they said, ^^^^ 

had to be spoken to you first; but since you spurn it and g°^ 

judge yourselves tmworthy of eternal life, well, here we Gen- 
tum to the Gentiles. For this is the Lord^s command to 
us: 

I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, 
To bring salvation to the end of the earth. 

When the Gentiles heard this they rejoiced and glorified 
the word of the Lord and believed, that is, all who had 
been ordained to eternal life; and the word of the Lord 
was spread abroad throughout the whole country. But the 
Jews incited the devout women of high rank and the lead- 
ing men in the town, who stirred up persecution against 
Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their territory. 
But they shook the dust off their feet as a protest against 
them and went to Iconimn. The disciples, however, were 
filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. 

83 



(44-52) 



PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN 

Peree- At Iconium the same thing happened. They went mto 
S^cS- the synagogue of the Jews and spoke in such a way that a 
Dju^ great number both of Jews and Greeks believed. But the 
refractory Jews stirred up and exasperated the feeling of 
the Gentiles against the brothers. Yet they spent a con- 
siderable time, speaking boldly about the Lord, who at- 
tested the word of his grace by allowing signs and wonders 
to be performed by them. The populace of the town, 
however, was divided ; some sided with the Jews, some with 
the apostles. But, when there was a hostUe movement of 
Gentiles and Jews along with their rulers to insult and stone 
them, the apostles escaped to the Lycaonian towns of Lystra 
and Derbe and the surrounding covintry; there they con- 
tinued to preach the gospel. 
The At Lystra there was a man sitting, who was powerless in 

of S^ his feet, a lame man unable to walk from birth. He heard 
Sf^e ^^^^ speaking, and Paul, gazing intently at him and recog- 
?ame® uizing that he had faith enough to make him well, said in 
^^ a loud voice. Stand upright on your feet. So he sprang up 
Lystra and began to walk. Now when the crowds saw what 
Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, 
The gods have come down to us in himian form ! Barnabas 
they called Zeus, and Paul Hermes, since he was the chief 
speaker. Indeed the priest of the temple of Zeus in front 
of the town brought oxen and garlands to the gates, in- 
tending to offer sacrifice along with the crowds. But when 
the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard this they tore their 
clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting. Men, 
what is this you are doing? We are but men, with natures 
like your own! The gospel we are preaching to you is to 
turn you from these unreal things to the living God who 
made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and all that in them is. 
In past ages he allowed all nations to go their own ways, 
though as the bountiful giver he did not leave himself 
without a witness, giving you rain from heaven and fruit- 
ful seasons, giving you food and joy to your heart's con- 
tent. Even by words like these tiiey could scarcely keep 
rpjjg the crowds from sacrificing to them. 

stoning But Jews from Antioch and Iconitmi arrived, who won 
(iV^o)^ over the crowds and stoned Paul and dragged him out of 

84 



THE STONING OF PAUL 

the city, thinking he was dead. But, as the disciples gath- 
ered round him, he arose and went into the city. 

Next day he went off with Barnabas to Derbe; and after Revis- 
preaching the gospel to that city and making a number of theoa- 
disciples, they turned back to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ^g^. 
strengthening the disciples, encouraging them to hold by es^ 
the faith, and telling them. We must enter the Kingdom ^'^'''^ 
of God through many afflictions. They ordained elders 
for them in every church, and with prayer and fasting 
commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 
Then, passing through Pisidia they came to Pamphylia; 
and after speaking the word of the Lord in Perga they 
went down to AttaUa. Thence they sailed for Antioch, 
where they had been commended to the grace of God for 
the work they had now completed. 

On their arrival they gathered the church together and The 
proceeded to report how God had worked with them, and J^^ 
how he had opened a door of faith for the Gentiles. They ^^^^ 
spent a considerable time there with the disciples. Soch ' 

(2S-28) 

I. Paul's Work at Antioch. Antioch, the old Syrian capital, 
was not only the city where the term "Christians" was coined, but 
also the point from which Christianity set out on its deliberate con- 
quest of the Roman world. Here it was that the Gospel of Jesus had 
first been proclaimed to the Gentiles. As a result, many Greeks 
were already found in the membership of the Antioch church. An- 
tioch was also the Syrian gateway through which ran the main high- 
way that led across Asia Minor and Macedonia to Rome. Its natural 
position, as well as its history, fitted it for its lofty role. The wisdom 
and foresight of the Antioch Christians and especially of Barnabas, 
their leader, were revealed by taking Paul into their ranks. It was 
a most significant recognition of the man and his work in Tarsus and 
Cilicia. Barnabas even went in' person to bring Paul to Antioch, 
thus giving to the act an official authority. For Paul the year spent 
in teaching at Antioch must also have been of great value. Here 
amidst most favorable conditions he faced many of the problems that 
he later met single-handed in the other great cities of the empire. 
Here he worked side by side with Barnabas, whose earlier years as 
a follower of Jesus had been spent at Jerusalem in closest contact 
with the Twelve. Here Paul must have absorbed many of the beliefs 

85 



PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN 

and hopes of the primitive Jerusalem church, although, as he repeatedly 
asserts, his own faith rested on more personal grounds — his experience 
of the risen Christ and of the divine Spirit working in his life and 
in that of the converts who responded to his preaching. 

The date of Paul's work at Antioch is indicated by Luke, for he 
connects it with the terrible drought and famine that came according 
to Josephus during the procuratorship of Tiberius Alexander, 46-48 
A.D. Jerusalem suffered especially. The needs of its inhabitants 
were in part relieved through the generous gifts of a Jewish proselyte. 
Queen Helena, of Adiabene. Her example was followed by the Chris- 
tians of Antioch. Barnabas and Paul, the leaders in the mission to 
the Gentiles, were chosen to bear these evidences of the good-will and 
devotion of the Gentile Christians to the members of the Judean 
churches. This Christian act undoubtedly did much to heal the 
threatening breach between these two branches of the church. It 
also opened the way for the memorable interview between Paul and 
the authorities at Jerusalem, recorded in Galatians 2 {cf. § CLH), 
which established the freedom of the Gentile Christians. It is also sig- 
nificant that the one condition then insisted upon by the Jerusalem 
authorities was that the benefactions of the Gentile Christians be con- 
tinued. Another important result of the mission to Jerusalem w^as 
that Paul and Barnabas brought back with them to Antioch Barnabas's 
nephew, John Mark, who, according to early Christian tradition, had 
been closely associated with Peter and who later wrote the earliest 
surviving life of Jesus. Thus the two very different types of churches, 
that at Jerusalem and that at Antioch, were closely bound together 
by the bond of mutual service and the way prepared for the great for- 
ward step that came on the return of Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. 

11. The Sending Forth of Barnabas and Paul. The narrative 
in Acts implies that the impulse to enter upon the first foreign mis- 
sionary campaign came not from one man but from the collective 
body of Antioch Christians. Paul by his teachings and example had 
undoubtedly sown the seed. It requires little imagination to detect 
his personal influence in the memorable meeting when the great de- 
cision was made. Those who suggest are usually chosen to execute, 
and Barnabas and Paul were the two appointed to initiate the work. 
The success of the Jerusalem mission may also have led the Antioch 
Christians to seek a larger field. They probably had large resources 
at their command. Barnabas formerly held land in Jerusalem; 
Manaen, one of their number, had been a playmate of Herod, the 

86 



SENDING FORTH BARNABAS AND PAUL 

tetrarch. Antioch was an opulent city and the Jews were among its 
most prosperous citizens. It is probable, therefore, that Barnabas 
and Paul went forth on their foreign mission supported not only by 
the prayers and benedictions but also by the gifts of the Antioch 
Christians, for ** freely you have received, freely give" was a funda- 
mental tenet of their faith. The missionary spirit was not a later 
growth but a fundamental principle of primitive Christianity. 

III. The Work of Barnabas and Paul in Cyprus. It is sig- 
nificant that when they went forth Barnabas was the leader; when 
they returned Paul, the younger, was the commanding spirit. Bar- 
nabas first led Paul and Mark to his native island of Cyprus, but 
before the two leading apostles returned they had carried the Gospel 
of Jesus many miles beyond Paul's native city, Tarsus. The author 
of this section of Acts deliberately condenses his account of the mis- 
sionary campaign in Cyprus. His reason is in keeping with his pur- 
pose, which was to describe the victorious advance of Christianity from 
Jerusalem to Rome and to show that it was protected rather than op- 
posed by the Roman authorities. Cyprus, as well as Egypt, was 
aside from the main line of that advance. At Salamis, the chief 
eastern port of Cyprus, the Christian missionaries found a large Jew- 
ish colony and were doubtless freely admitted to the synagogues, for 
it is probable that in this distant outpost little opposition between 
Judaism and Christianity had as yet developed. Luke's narrative 
does not expand until Barnabas and Paul come into contact with the 
Roman proconsul who ruled the island from its capital, Paphos. This 
was the new Paphos on the coast ten miles northeast of the ancient 
city of Paphos which had long been famous for worship of the Paphian 
goddess, whose shrine was there. The Roman proconsul, Paulus, 
was evidently a man of culture, interested in the various current 
philosophies. Pliny mentions him among the Roman writers of the 
day. In his train was a Jew who had grafted on to his inherited faith 
many of the heathen ideas and practices that had come from the East, 
especially from Persia. This haK philosopher and half fakir had also 
won a reputation as a prophet or public preacher. He was one of the 
many missionaries in that strongly missionary age. The mother 
goddess of Phrygia, the Egyptian goddess Isis, as well as the Cynic 
and Stoic philosophies, all had their emissaries, like the Pharisees 
"encompassing sea and land to make proselytes." In Asia Minor, 
Macedonia, and Rome Paul met and contested with them for the 
faith of men. In the presence of the cultured Roman proconsul it is 

87 



PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN 

not Barnabas nor Saul the Jew, but Paulus the Roman citizen who 
suddenly stands forth and from this time on holds the central place 
not only in the book of Acts but in the missionary work of the Chris- 
tian church. The scene in Acts is symbolic of the victorious contest 
that Christianity was destined to wage with the heathen cults and 
philosophies of the ancient world. 

IV. The Mission Field in Southern Asia Minor. The activity 
of Paul and Barnabas in Cyprus does not appear to have been very 
fruitful. The narrative in Acts implies that they confined their work 
chiefly to the Jews. It is not even claimed that the Roman procon- 
sul definitely aligned himself with the Christian beliefs. No discour- 
agements or obstacles, however, could daunt Paul or deter him from 
the realization of the aim which he henceforth set before him. This 
aim alone explains why he left Cyprus and struck northward into 
Asia Minor. It was because he was eager to carry the Gospel of 
Jesus the next stage westward of Cilicia toward the heart of the Roman 
Empire. Perga, near the southern coast, was left behind, for it was 
strongly pagan and aside from the great world currents. There also, 
John Mark turned back, while Paul, sick in body but fearless and de- 
termined, dragged Barnabas with him up over the almost impassable 
southern headlands of Asia Minor, facing untold hardships, "perils 
of rivers and perils of robbers," to the commercial cities that lay on 
the great highway which led from the East to Rome. Here Paul the 
cosmopolitan again found himself at home. Here, as at Tarsus, 
Roman organization, Greek culture, and Jewish religious zeal were 
found side by side, even though they did not blend. Here was a field 
that appealed to the great missionary statesman of early Christianity. 

V. At Galatian Antioch. Antioch, one of the two chief cities 
of the Roman province of Galatia, was an important eastern outpost 
of the imperial city. It lay on an isolated plateau over thirty-six 
hundred feet above the sea-level and two hundred feet above the 
western plain. It was guarded on the eastern side by the swift, deep- 
flowing River Anthios. Augustus, recognizing its strategic impor- 
tance, had made it a Roman colony about the beginning of the Chris- 
tian era. It dominated the surrounding region to which the narrative 
of Acts refers and was a most favorable centre in which to plant the 
Gospel seed. Here was evidently a large Jewish colony which had 
attracted to its ranks many thoughtful Greeks as well as Jews. The 
official abolition of the local religion increased the possibilities of this 
new mission field. Through the medium of the local synagogue Paul 



PAUL AT GALATIAN ANTIOCH 

and Barnabas easily gained a hearing from the more religiously minded 
citizens of this important metropolis. The sermon which the author 
attributes to Paul contains many echoes of Stephen's earlier address. 
In its use of the Old Testament it reflects the current rabbinical meth- 
ods. While its form may be due in part or largely to the author of 
this section of Acts, it is an excellent illustration of the sermons which 
carried conviction to the minds of earnest Jews and Gentiles seeking 
the way of salvation. The success of Paul and Barnabas in Galatia 
and Antioch was most marked. The Jews and devout Greeks gathered 
about them with eager questions. Not only the city itself but the 
surrounding region which it commanded was stirred by the message of 
the apostles until the opposition of the more conservative Jews was 
aroused. The author here as elsewhere represents the apostles as 
speaking first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, but the account 
itself indicates that from the first the appeal was to both classes. 
Recognizing the universality of Jesus' work, Paul in his own teaching 
and activity had long since broken the bond which still fettered the 
Palestinian Christians. 

VI. The Apostles' Work at Iconium and Lystra. A positive 
character and message such as Paul's inevitably aroused opposition 
and he was soon driven with Barnabas to find refuge elsewhere and 
a new field of work. They left behind, however, a devoted group of 
disciples whose joy and spiritual exaltation testified to the divine 
transformation which had been worked in their lives. Eighty miles 
east of Antioch lay another important Galatian city. Iconium, un- 
like Antioch, was on a fertile, level plain on the western side of a lofty 
mountain range from whose sides rushed the stream which irrigated 
the great plain about the city. The almost constant danger of floods 
and foreign invasion had developed in highest measure the energy and 
resourcefulness of its inhabitants. Here the apostles found a flourish- 
ing colony and Jewish synagogue. Jews and Greeks alike responded 
to their teaching, although certain of the Jews bitterly opposed them. 
Here for weeks and probably months they conducted a successful 
mission, but its very success in time aroused the rulers, so that at last 
the apostles departed amidst taunts and pelting stones. 

Wearied by constant opposition and in quest of a quiet place of 
refuge, Paul and Barnabas turned westward to the native town of 
Lystra, twenty miles from Iconium. It was situated in a peaceful 
valley, watered by two streams from the western hills. In the midst 
of the valley rose the acropolis, a steep hill, a hundred and fifty feet in 

89 



PAUL'S FIRST MISSIONARY CAMPAIGN 

height. Here the apostles were among a simple peasant people of the 
old Lycaonian stock. A kindly work of healing, wrought upon a lame 
man whose faith was equal to the task, almost instantly won the 
adoration of the populace. The narrative well illustrates the com- 
mon popular belief of the day that the gods in human form frequently 
came down and walked among men. Barnabas, the taller and more 
commanding figure, was identified as Zeus; Paul, the smaller and alert 
and more gifted speaker, with Hermes, the spokesman and messenger 
of the gods. Not understanding the native language, the apostles ap- 
parently did not at first understand that the people were about to 
worship and offer sacrifices to them; but as soon as they appreciated 
the situation they loudly protested and improved the opportunity to 
tell them of the one living God, whence came all their blessings. 
Lystra, however, was under the control of the Galatian Antioch and 
so near Iconium that the Jewish persecutors of the apostles soon over- 
took them and turned the zeal of the populace into mad rage, so that 
Paul barely escaped death at their hands. Derbe, the next place to 
which the apostles turned for refuge, was on a great plain about forty- 
five miles south of Iconium. Here amidst the native population they 
met with little opposition. This point, however, marked the eastern 
limit of their campaign, for it was near the eastern bounds of the prov- 
ince of Galatia. Paul, instead of going eastward along the direct 
road to his boyhood home at Tarsus and to the field of his earlier 
activity in Cilicia, was evidently eager to return and perfect the or- 
ganization of the Christian communities which they had established 
in the important cities of Galatia. The lapse of time and in many 
cases the change of rulers and the abatement of opposition made this 
possible. Hence they retraced their steps, in each place strengthening 
the disciples. Out of the ranks of each Christian community they 
selected certain presbyters or elders to direct and instruct the indi- 
vidual members. Evidently Paul was seeking not to build up a 
hierarchy but a democratic brotherhood akin to that which Jesus him- 
self had established during his ministry in Galilee. Thence they re- 
turned through Pamphylia to the sea at Attalia and from there by ship 
to Antioch, where they reported the results of their work to the church 
which had sent them forth and the great fact that the Gentile world 
was waiting eagerly to receive the message of their risen Lord. Within 
less than two decades after the death of Jesus Christianity had entered 
upon its world conquest, so great was the potency of the personality 
and teacliings of him who taught as never man taught before. 

90 



PAUL'S INTERVIEW WITH THE APOSTLES 



§ CLH. THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS 

[Paul himself states that] Fourteen years after my first raid's 
visit with Peter I went up again to Jerusalem accompanied ^^" 
by Barnabas. I also took Titus with me. I went up in ^^^ 
obedience to a revelation. And I laid before them the ment 
gospel which I preach to the Gentiles; I did this in private Se^ 
before the authorities lest by any means I should be running, Jp^^ 
or should already have run in vain. But even though (Qai. 
Titus, who was with me, was a Greek, he was not obUged ^' '°^ 
to be circumcised. The opposition came through certain 
traitorous false brothers who had crept in to spy out the 
freedom we enjoy in Christ Jesus in order that they might 
enslave us again. But, in order that the truth of the gospel 
might hold good for you, we did not consent for an instant 
to submit to them. Indeed from the authorities — what- 
ever they are it makes no difference to me ; God payeth no 
respect to persons — these authorities had no additions to 
make to my gospel. On the contrary, when they saw that 
I had been intrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised 
just as Peter had been for the circumcised (for he who 
equipped Peter to be an apostle to the circumcised equipped 
me as well for the Gentiles), and when they recognized the 
grace that had been given me, James and Cephas and John, 
who were considered the pillars of the church, gave to me 
and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship that we should 
go to the Gentiles, they to the circumcised. One thing they 
urged, that we should remember the poor, which I myself 
was exceedingly eager to do. 

When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, Paul's 
because he stood condemned. For before certain persons Jlfuke 
came from James, he ate with the Gentile Christians; but ^^^^ 
when they came, he withdrew and held aloof for fear of the forin- 
circumcision party. The rest of the Jewish Christians also teS^ 
played false along with him, so that even Barnabas was ^"""> 
carried away by their false play. But when I saw that 
they were not acting uprightly in the true spirit of the 
gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of them all: If 
you who are a Jew live like the Gentiles and not like the 

91 



THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS 

Jews, why do you oblige the Gentiles to become Jews? 
We may be Jews by birth and not * Gentile sinners,' but, 
knowing that a man is justified by faith in Christ Jesus 
and not by doing the things which the law commands, we 
ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus so as to be jus- 
tified by faith in Christ and not by doing the things that 
the law commands, for by doing those things which the 
law commands no human being shall be justified. 

The Now certain individuals came down from Jerusalem and 

§^" taught the brothers: Unless you are circvmicised after the 
tionl^ custom of Moses you cannot be saved. Inasmuch as there 
to the was a sharp dispute and controversy between them and 
M^ic p^^ ^^^ Barnabas, it was arranged that Paul and Bar- 
<^i<;*) nabas, along with some others of their munber, should go 
up to Jerusalem to consult the apostles and elders at Jeru- 
salem about this question. 
The So they set out, being accompanied for a distance by 

tation members of the church. And they passed through Phoe- 
to^ nicia and Samaria, telling about the conversion of the Gen- 
saiSi tiles. And they inspired all the brothers with great joy. 
(»•*) When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by 
the church and the apostles and elders. And they reported 
all that God had done through them. 
Peter's But some of the believers who belonged to the Pharisaic 
to ttS^ party got up and said. Gentiles must be circiuncised and 
cpmicii enjoined to observe the law of Moses. Then the apostles 
and the presbyters met to investigate this question, and a 
keen controversy sprang up; but Peter rose and said to 
them. Brothers, you know well that from the earliest days 
God chose among you that by my mouth the Gentiles were 
to hear the word of the gospel and believe. The God who 
knows all hearts attested this by giving them the Holy 
Spirit just as he gave it to us; in cleansing their hearts by 
faith he made no distinction at all between us and them. 
Well now, why are you trying an experiment upon God by 
imposing a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither 
our fathers nor we ourselves could bear? No, it is by the 
grace of the Lord Jesus that we beUeve and are saved, in 
the same way as they. 

92 



(6-11) 



STATEMENT OF PAUL AND BARNABAS 

Then the whole assembly was silent and listened to state- 
Bamabas and Paul recounting the signs and wonders God S^paui 
had performed by them among the Gentiles. I^a- 

When they had finished speaiing, James replied, Brothers, hasi^ 
listen to me. Simeon has told how God originally sought rj^^^ 
to secure a people from among the Gentiles to bear his counsel 
name. This agrees with the words of the prophets; as it james 
is written, ^ -' 

After this I will return and rebuild David*s fallen tent. 

Its ruins I will rebuild and set it up again, 

That the rest of men may seek for the Lord, that they 

may possess the remnant of Edom 
Even all the Gentiles who are called by my name, 
Saith the Lord, who maketh this known from of old. 

My judgment therefore is that we ought not to put fresh 
difficulties in the way of those who are turning to God from 
among the Gentiles, but enjoin them to abstain from what- 
ever is polluted by idols, from sexual vice, from the flesh 
of animals that have been strangled, and from blood; for 
Moses has had his preachers from earliest ages in every 
city, where he is read aloud in the synagogues every sab- 
bath. 

Then the apostles and the elders, together with the The 
whole church, decided to select some of their number tSS' 
and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. The {^^^^ 
men selected were Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, Gentae 
leading members of the brotherhood. They bore the fol- §S" 
lowing letter: The apostles and the elder brothers send <''""> 
greeting to the brothers who belong to the Gentiles through- 
out Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Since we have learned 
that some of our number, without being authorized by us, 
have disturbed you with their teaching and upset your 
souls, we have decided unanimously to select some of our 
number and send them to you along with our beloved 
Barnabas and Paul who have risked their lives for the sake 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We therefore send Judas and 
Silas, who will also tell you these things by word of mouth. 
The Holy Spirit and we have decided not to impose any 

93 



THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS 

extra burden on you, except these essential requirements: 
abstain from food that has been offered to idols, from tast- 
ing blood, from the flesh of animals that have been stran- 
gled, and from sexual vice. Keep clear of all this and it 
will be well with you. Farewell. 
Its When the messengers were despatched, they went down 

tfon^" to Antioch and, after gathering the whole assembly, they 
(30-35) deUvered the letter. On reading it the people rejoiced at 
the encouragement it brought. And as Judas and Silas 
were themselves prophets, they encouraged and strength- 
ened the brothers with many a discourse. Then 5ter 
they had spent some time there they were dismissed with a 
greeting of peace from the brothers to those who had sent 
them. Paul and Barnabas, however, stayed on in Antioch, 
teaching and preaching the word of the Lord along with a 
number of others. 

I. The Burning Problem in the Christian Church. The 

extension of Christianity far beyond the bounds of Palestine, and 
especially the work of Paul and Barnabas among the Gentiles, pre- 
sented to the Christian church its first great and insistent problem. For- 
tunately, it did not become a pressing issue until the work of the 
Hellenistic Christians had furnished a large body of facts born of 
experience. The problem involved three distinct issues and it is im- 
portant not to confuse them. The first and most insistent was, Were 
the Gentile Christians to be compelled to follow the demands of the 
Jewish law ? Second, What were the obligations of the Jewish Chris- 
tians to their inherited law? The third question, fortunately, came 
to the forefront a little later, What were to be the mutual obligations 
of each when Jewish and Gentile Christians ate and associated to- 
gether? According to the testimony of Paul (Gal. 2*), the problem 
was precipitated by certain Jewish Christians **who had crept in to 
spy out the freedom" that the Antioch Christians were enjoying in 
Christ Jesus and who aimed to enslave again the Gentile members of 
that great and growing church by compelling them to satisfy all the 
detailed demands of the Jewish law. 

II. The Accounts of the Way in Which the Problem Was 
Solved. Fortunately, in the second chapter of Paul's letter to the 
Galatians he has given a brief but straightforward and clear statement 
of the issue and its outcome. It reveals not merely Paul's position 

94 



THE ACCOUNTS OF THE SOLVING OF THE PROBLEM 

but that of the "pillars" at Jerusalem and unquestionably must be 
regarded as the primary historical source. Acts 142^-15^^ contains what 
is generally regarded as a parallel record of the same vital controversy. 
In the outstanding facts the two accounts are in substantial agreement. 
That in Acts, however, makes it a public rather than the distinctively 
private conference described in the second chapter of Paul's letter to 
the Galatians. The influence of the author's harmonizing purpose is also 
apparent in the absence from his account of any reference to the radical 
issue between Peter and Paul regarding the obligations of Jewish and 
Gentile Christians where the two were associated together in the same 
church. To the formal decision of James and the Jewish Christians 
at Jerusalem Paul makes no reference in Galatians 2. The only 
satisfactory explanation is that Paul's private interview with the 
"pillars" at Jerusalem took place when he went up to Jerusalem with 
Barnabas to present the gift of the Antioch Christians. This date is 
supported by Paul's clear implication that he had made no other visit 
to Jerusalem since his first meeting with Peter, fourteen years before 
his memorable interview. Paul and Barnabas, therefore, set out on 
their first missionary campaign with the assurance that the leaders at 
Jerusalem approved of their action. The public council at Jerusalem 
apparently came after their return two years later. This chronological 
arrangement solves many difficulties and brings the testimony of Paul 
and of Acts into substantial agreement. 

III. Paul's Interview with the " Pillars " at Jerusalem. The 
date of Paul's memorable interview with the leaders of the Jerusalem 
church was probably in 47 a.d., and therefore antedated by two years 
the conference reported in Acts. Paul tells us that, as frequently in the 
great decisive moments in his life, he was led to go up to Jerusalem as 
the result of a special revelation, although in the same connection he 
speaks of the subversive influence of certain traitorous false brothers 
in the Antioch church who had precipitated the issue. He plainly 
felt that the time had arrived for decisive action. To make the ques- 
tion absolutely clear and concrete, he took with him Titus, a Greek 
Christian who had not submitted to the Jewish rite of circumcision 
and who, presumably because of his Gentile origin, observed none of 
the detailed Jewish laws. Frankly and fully Paul described to the 
authorities at Jerusalem the Gospel which he had been in the habit of 
preaching to the Gentiles and asserted its universality and applicabil- 
ity freed from all Jewish limitations. In the light of the facts, the 
"pillars" of the Jerusalem church, including the disciples Peter and 

95 



THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS 

John and James the brother of Jesus (who had probably been chosen 
to fill the vacancy in the ranks of the Twelve due to the martyrdom of 
James the son of Zebedee), fully accepted Paul's position and gave 
him the right hand of fellowship. It was decided that Paul should 
be allowed to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles without any limita- 
tions. The account also implies that the Twelve were to continue to 
preach the Gospel to the Jews and to require that the Jewish Chris- 
tian converts should continue to observe the demands of their law. 
The only obligation laid upon Paul was the request that he remember 
the needs of the poor Christians at Jerusalem — a request that he de- 
clares himseK eager to grant. This request was probably prompted 
by the actual needs of the Jerusalem Christian community, many of 
whom had no direct means of support, and who after the period of 
famine that had just preceded were in great want. It also aimed to 
bind together the Jewish and Gentile sections of the Christian church 
by practical acts of service. Fiu*thermore, it implied a certain obHga- 
tion, if not subjection, of the Gentiles to the Jews. This obligation 
is frankly admitted by Paul himself at the close of his letter to the 
Romans: "Macedonia and Achaia have decided to make a contribution 
for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. Such is their decision, 
and it is a debt they owe them, for if the Gentiles have shared their 
spiritual blessings they owe them a debt of aid in material things" 

(1526. 27)^ 

Paul says nothing about the public announcement of the results of 
this interview to the Jerusalem Christians, but it may be inferred that 
it was made, for the later opposition that Paul had sought to allay 
by his visit to the historic home of the church came not from the apos- 
tles but from certain ardent Pharisaic Christians. Paul states in 
Galatians 2^'^ that Peter and James defended the Tightness of his 
claims. He in turn confirmed the wisdom of this decision by telling 
of the significant work that he had already accomplished (in Syria and 
Cilicia) among the Gentiles. Paul's vivid record of his interview with 
the Twelve does not suggest that the slightest limitation was placed 
by them upon his mission to the Greek world. They simply agreed to 
divide the Jewish and Gentile fields and not to intrench on the work 
of the other. Throughout the interview the spirit of their common 
Master guided them in dealing with this most delicate and important 
question, so that without a rupture in the church the ancient Jewish 
bonds were thrown aside and Christianity went forth unfettered to 
its world conquest. 

96 



PROBLEMS IN THE GENTILE CHURCHES 

IV. Problems Arising from the Association of Jewish and 
Gentile Christians. One vexed question remained unsolved, and 
before long demanded an answer. In the early church it assumed 
portentous proportions; but in the perspective of history it appears 
relatively unimportant. It became insistent in the mixed Jewish 
and Gentile churches, where the division between the mission to the 
Gentiles and that to the Jews could not be rigidly observed. Paul, 
on the basis of his earlier experience, fully recognized this fact. At 
the beginning he asserted his conviction as to what was the only satis- 
factory solution by taking the uncircumcised Greek Titus with him to 
Jerusalem and by freely associating with him. In the private inter- 
view the apostles tacitly accepted Paul's position and made no ad- 
ditions to it, although certain Jewish Christians opposed it from the 
first (Gal. 2^^). When Peter later came to Antioch, he also at first 
accepted it in practice as well as theory. This attitude was perfectly 
natural in a disciple of a Master who had freely eaten with sinners 
and tax-collectors and who had shown in all his career a calm uncon- 
cern for all ceremonialism. Peter needed no special vision to convince 
him on this point. The fraternal spirit manifest among the Antioch 
Christians was also indubitable evidence that their faith was rooted 
in something far deeper than mere ceremonial forms. It is evident, 
however, that during his absence on his first missionary campaign the 
narrow Judaizers in the Jerusalem church had been active. They 
were doubtless the same men who had protested against associating 
with the Greek Christian Titus. Reports of what Peter had been 
doing at Antioch had probably reached them. Their protests even 
influenced James to send messengers to Peter with the result that he 
withdrew from associating closely with the Gentile Christians. Even 
Barnabas yielded to the pressure of the Judaizers. Luke in Acts 
J523-29 jjg^g probably embodied the essence of their demands. In any 
case, Paul's explicit testimony in Galatians 2 indicates that these 
specific regulations were issued not only after his interview with the 
*'pillars" at Jerusalem but also after Peter's visit to Antioch. They 
stipulate that all Gentile Christians should abstain from things con- 
taminated by contact with idols, from sexual vice, from the flesh of 
animals that had been strangled, and from tasting blood. According 
to the Jewish law found in Leviticus, chapters 17 and 18, these were the 
exact limitations placed upon foreigners resident in Palestine. While 
there is no evidence that Peter publicly insisted that the Gentile Chris- 
tians of Antioch should observe these injunctions, his ceasing to eat 

97 



THE BREAKING OF JEWISH BONDS 

with the Gentile Christians impHed a tacit acceptance of the principle 
involved. His motive was doubtless to maintain peace and harmony 
in the Palestinian chm-ch and to avoid destroying his influence with 
the Jews. Barnabas, with his strong Jewish inheritance and Jeru- 
salem affiliations, evidently regarded Peter's position as tenable. It 
is easy to appreciate the practical considerations which influenced 
Peter's action. He was quite willing that Paul should preach the Gospel 
to the Gentiles without restriction but, recognizing that his own mis- 
sion was primarily to the Jews, he deemed it unwise to openly repudiate 
the demands of the Jewish law. 

The incident recorded in Galatians 2 may antedate certain of the 
facts underlying the story of Peter's vision in Acts 10, which aims to 
show how he was led to see that in the eyes of God there was no validity 
in the legal distinction between clean and unclean (10^"^^), and that he 
was to associate freely without restriction with Gentiles as well as Jews 
and to call no man "common or unclean" (10^^). His later mission 
to the Gentiles, to which Paul refers in I Corinthians 9^, implies that 
in time Peter repented of the backward step which he had taken at 
Antioch and joined with Paul in his mission to the Greek and Roman 
world. 

V. Paul's Controversy with Peter. The reason for Paul's 
indignation and public arraignment of Peter is obvious. He was con- 
scious that the great apostle agreed with him in principle, but that his 
action was a deadly blow at the Christian liberty which Paul so ar- 
dently championed. He argued also that the work of Christ was 
sufficient for the salvation of both the Jew and the Gentile and that 
insistence upon the observation of the law was evidence of lack of 
faith in the Gospel. At the same time, Paul in his later writings and 
in his own practice strongly advocates consideration for the religious 
scruples of his Jewish brothers. "Therefore, if food is any hinderance 
to my brother's welfare, rather than injure him I will never eat flesh 
as long as I live" (I Cor. 8^^). "To the Jews I have become like a 
Jew to win over Jews. To those outside the law I have become like one 
of themselves" (I Cor. 9^°*- ^i*). The fundamental difference between 
Paul's position and that of Peter and the Jerusalem apostles was that 
they proposed to impose definite rules upon all Gentile Christians, 
thus breaking the agreement into which they had entered at the 
memorable^interview at Jerusalem, while Paul demanded for each man 
individual liberty, although even in his letter to the Galatians with 
all its protests against the Judaizing Christians, he urges: "Brothers, 



PAUL'S CONTROVERSY WITH PETER 

you are called to be free; only do not make your freedom an opening 
for the flesh, but serve one another in love" (Gal. 5^^). The principle 
involved in this great controversy was long debated in the early Chris- 
tian church. Revelations 2^*' ^o simply emphasizes the importance 
of having all Christians abstain from eating things offered to idols. 
Not until the latter half of the first century, when Christianity broke 
entirely with Judaism, was the broad yet considerate position advo- 
cated by Paul universally adopted by the Christian church. Even 
as late as 120 a.d. the Teaching of the Twelve directs: "But as con- 
cerning foods bear that which thou art able; however, abstain by all 
means from meat sacrificed to idols, for it is the worship of dead gods." 
VI. The Significance of the Breaking of Jewish Bonds. Viewed 
in the broad perspective of history, the incidents recorded in Galatians 
2 mark a new epoch in the history of Christianity. What had hitherto 
been accepted in practice outside of Palestine was now formulated in 
a definite principle. Christianity stood before the Grseco-Roman 
world completely free from the swaddling-clothes of Judaism. Hence- 
forth the apostles to the Gentiles entered upon their noble task of 
interpreting the principles of Jesus into forms attractive and intelligible 
to that world. Paul, conscious of the strong opposition against him- 
self and his teachings in the Palestinian church and at variance even 
with certain leaders like Barnabas of the Antioch church, henceforth 
faced with undivided zeal the Gentile mission field. The conscious- 
ness of fighting for a great principle spurred him on to still greater 
endeavors. It also led him to seek fields beyond the immediate pale 
of Jewish influence in which he could demonstrate in broader and 
larger measure the efficacy of the Gospel of Jesus for Gentile as well 
as Jew. The unfortunate by-products of the great controversy were 
destined to pursue him and undermine to a certain extent his work 
not only in Asia Minor but even in distant Corinth. At the same 
time it called forth some of his greatest utterances and tended to con- 
firm him in his broad position. It was clearly the chief cause of the 
breach between himself and Barnabas; but the fact that he lost the 
companionship of his earlier co-laborer led him to rear up a group of 
faithful disciples who ultimately multiplied manyfold the work of 
the great apostle to the Gentiles. Thus out of the bitterness of the 
struggle came rich fruits and the Christian liberty which is man's most 
cherished possession. 



99 



PAUL'S SECOND VISIT TO GALATIA 



§CLin. PAUL'S SECOND VISIT AND LATER LETTER TO 
THE CHURCHES OF GALATIA 

Paul's After remaining certain days in Antioch, Paul said to 
t^^^" Barnabas, Let us now go back to visit the brothers in all 
^^ the cities where we have proclaimed the word of the Lord 
(Acts and see how they are doing. But while Barnabas wanted 
''""'^ to take along John (who was called Mark), Paul did not 
deem it desirable to take with them a man who had deserted 
them in Pamphylia instead of going on with them to the 
work. So there was a serious disagreement with the re- 
sult that they parted company. Barnabas, taking Mark 
with him, set sail for Cyprus, while Paul selected Silas and 
went off, commended by the brothers to the grace of the 
Lord. He passed through Syria and Cilicia strengthening 
the churches. 
seiec- He also came to Derbe and Lystra. At Lystra there was 
T?m-*^^ a disciple called Timothy, the son of a believing Jewess 
^^ and of a Greek father. He was well spoken of by the 
helper brothers at Lystra and Iconium. Paul, desiring to have him 
^'^'""^ accompany him, took and circumcised him on account of 
the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that 
his father was a Greek. 
Greet- [Paul also wrote to the churches of Galatia]: Paul, an 
^ai. apostle, sent not by man, nor commanded by any man, 
1'*) but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him 
from the dead, and all the brothers who are with me, to 
the churches of Galatia: Grace and peace to you from 
God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave him- 
self for our sins, to set us free from the present evil world, 
in accordance with the will of our God and Father, to whom 
be glory for ever and ever. Amen. 
Thesis I am astonished that you are so hastily deserting him 
^'"^ who called you by the grace of Christ and going over to 
another gospel. It simply means that certain ones are 
imsettling you and desire to pervert the gospel of Christ. 
Now, even if we or some angel from heaven preach a gospel 
different from that gospel which I preached to you, may 
God*s curse be on him! As I have said it before, so I 

100 



PAUL'S THESIS IN GALATIANS 

say it now: whoever preaches a gospel to you different 
from the gospel you have received, let God^s curse be on 
him! 

O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you— you, before The 
whose eyes Jesus Christ the crucified has been vividly ^l^^ 
presented? One thing only I wish to learn from you: did spwt, 
you receive the Spirit by doing what the law commands, tioned 
or by believing the gospel message? Are you so foolish? JSth. 
Did you begin with the Spirit to end now with the flesh? is the 
Have you had all that experience in vain— if it has really ?ai& 
been in vain? When he supplieth you with the Spirit and |^ce 
worketh miracles in you, is it because you do what the law pf ^^ 
commands, or because you believe the gospel message? ^of 
It is as it was with Abraham, who had faith in God and it ^^ 
was reckoned to him as righteousness. Kiiow then that (3^0 
those who have faith are the real sons of Abraham. 

Before faith came, we were confined by the law and limited Faith 
to the faith that was to be revealed. Thus the law was chnst 
our tutor until Christ should come, that we might be justi- gf^^^ 
fied by faith. But since the faith has come, we are no soiS^^^ 
longer under a tutor; for you are all sons of God by your ^eSsof 
faiti in Christ Jesus, for as many of you as have been ^od 
baptized in Christ have taken on the character of Christ. 
There is no longer Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and 
female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now, if you 
are Christ^s, then are you Abraham's offspring; by virtue 
of the promise you are heirs. 

What I mean is this. As long as an heir is imder age, jesus 
there is no difference between him and a slave, although ^^^^^ 
he is lord of all things : he is under guardians and stewards jp^t ^ 
until the time fixed by his father. So with us also. When sUp ' 
we were under age, we lived under the bondage of the a?e?' 
elemental spirits of the world; but, when the fullness of gj^ 
time had come, God sent forth his son, bom of a woman, age to 
bom under law to ransom those who were under the law, and^to^ 
in order that we might receive our right of sonship. Be- iga- 
cause you are sons, God has sent forth the spirit of his son goS 
into our hearts, crying Abba! Father! So you are no ^"^'''^ 
longer a slave but a son and, as son, also an heir through; 
God. 

101 



PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS 

The But in those days, when you did not know God, you were 

JI^E in bondage to those who by nature are no gods; but, now 
tiaS" *^^* y^^ know God, or rather are known by God, how is it 
to the that you are turning back again to the weak, poverty stricken, 
ag?of elemental spirits? Why do you wish to be enslaved all 
the law Qvej- again by them? You observe days, and months, 
and festal seasons and years! You make me afraid that I 
may have spent my labor on you in vain! 
Their I beg of you be as I am, for I was even as you, brothers. 
changed y^^ ^^^ j^g j^^ wrong, although you knew it was because 
toward ^^ ^^ iUuess that I preached the gospel to you on my former 
paS^ visit. And, though my flesh was a trial to you, you did not 
(12-20) (lespise nor scoff at me but received me as an angel of 
God, like Christ Jesus. Now what has become of all your 
congratulations? For I can testify that you would have 
torn out your very eyes, if you could, and given them to 
me. Have I become your enemy because I have spoken 
the truth to you? These men seek you zealously but not 
honestly; rather they desire to shut you out from me in 
order that you may zealously seek them. Now it is a fine 
thing for you to be zealously sought for at all times in the 
right manner— not only when I can be with you. My lit- 
tle children, you for whom I am again in travsul until Christ 
be formed within you, would that I might be with you at this 
time and alter my tone, for I am at my wit's end about you! 
cir- See ! I, Paul, say to you : if you let yoiurselves be circmn- 

gg^^ cised, Christ will be of no use to you. I assert again to 
now everyone that lets himself be circumcised that he is imder 
deSce obligation to carry out the whole of the law. You who seek 
offl?th justification in the law are done with Christ. You have 
in fallen from grace, for it is by faith that we wait in the Spirit 

(5^)^^ for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither 
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but only 
faith and love. 
The Brothers, you were called to be free; only do not make 

ifb^rty your freedom an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one 
(13-15) another in love. For the entire law is summed up in one 
word. You must love your neighbor as yourself. But, if 
you bite and devour one another, take care lest you be not 
destroyed by one another. 

102 



THE GUIDANCE OF THE SPIRIT 

I mean, walk by the Spirit; then you will not satisfy the The 
inclinations of the flesh. For the inclination of the flesh ^j^" 
is against the spirit, and the inclination of the spirit is of^e 
against the flesh; for these two are opposed to each other, ("is) 
so that you are not free to do as you please. But, if you 
are led by the spirit, you are not under the sway of the law. 

Now the deeds of the flesh are quite evident, such as The 
sexual vice, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, quarrels, ^^^^ 
contention, jealousy, anger, rivalry, factions, party spirit, flegi 
envy, drinking bouts, revelry, and the like. I tell you be- the ^ 
forehand, as I have told you already, that those who do (FjS) 
these things will never inherit the Kingdom of God. But 
the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kind- 
ness, generosity, fideUty, gentleness, self-control— there is 
no law against those who do these things. 

Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh The 
with its passions and inclinations. If we live by the spirit, §^^ 
let us walk also in the spirit. Let us not be vain nor given J^<^^ 
to provoking or envying one another. Even if anyone is (52^6) 
caught in some wrong act, brothers, you who are spiritual 
must set such a one right in a spirit of gentleness. Let each 
one of you look to himself lest you be tempted. Bear one 
another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. If any- 
one imagines that he is somebody when he is nobody, he 
is deceiving himself. Let everyone test his own work and 
then he will have something to boast about on his own ac- 
count, and not in comparison with his neighbor. For every- 
one will have to bear his own load. Each one who is 
taught should share all the good things of life with those 
who teach him the word. 

Be not deceived; God is not to be mocked: for whatever The 
a man sows, that shall he also reap. He who sows for his of S?* 
own flesh shall from the flesh reap destruction, and he who ('"> 
sows for the spirit shall reap from the spirit life eternal. 
And let us not grow weary of doing what is right, for in 
due season we shall reap if we faint not. So then, as we 
have opportimity, let us do good to all men and especially 
to those who are of the household of the faith. 

See what big letters I make when I write with mine own 
hand! These men who are seeking to compel you to be 

103 



(11-18) 



PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS 

Paul's circumcised desire to make a fine show in the flesh. It is 
llSph simply that they may not be persecuted for the cross of 
g^Q_ Christ. For even they who have been circumcised do not 
^ction keep the law themselves; but they desire to have you cir- 
cumcised so that they may boast over your flesh! But 
far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me 
and I to the world. For what counts is neither circumcision 
nor uncircumcision, but the new creation, and on as many 
as will walk by this rule may peace and mercy rest, even 
upon the Israel of God. 

Henceforth, let no man interfere with me, for I bear 
branded on my body the marks of Jesus. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, 
brothers. Amen. 

I. Date and Aim of Paul's Second Missionary Campaign. 

Paul probably set out on his second missionary campaign in the early 
autumn of 49 a.d. He^was eager to get away from the dissensions 
raised by the Judaizers at Jerusalem and Antioch. Acts states that 
his primary purpose was to visit the Galatian churches, doubtless with 
a view to strengthening them (Acts 16^). He also aimed to prepare 
them for the problems that he saw before them. His ultimate purpose 
was to carry the Gospel of Jesus westward throughout the provinces 
of Asia Minor immediately beyond the Roman province of Galatia 
which had been the scene of his earlier work. The great metropolitan 
city of Ephesus, the commercial and religious capital of the province 
of Asia, was clearly Paul's definite objective. His comprehensive aim 
even at this period was evidently to conquer the great Gentile world 
that had been assigned to him at the memorable interview at Jeru- 
salem. Paul sought not only to extend his conquests to the great 
political and social centres of this Gentile world, but also, at this critical 
stage, to make each field in which he preached and planted churches 
the base for the next advance. 

II. Revisiting the Galatian Churches. Paul was evidently 
the one who originally proposed to Barnabas that they face the perils 
of Asia Minor and penetrate again to the heart of the Roman province 
of Galatia. Throughout this arduous but successful enterprise Paul 
had taken the initiative. The reason given in Acts why Barnabas did 
not accompany Paul in his second visit to this field is their disagree- 

104 



REVISITING THE GALATIAN CHURCHES 

ment about taking John Mark with them. Probably a deeper reason 
was their disagreement regarding the right and wisdom of letting 
Jewish and Gentile Christians freely associate together without im- 
posing on either any ceremonial limitation. Moreover, Barnabas's 
interest lay in his homeland, Cyprus; Paul's in the unconquered ter- 
ritory beyond his native city, Tarsus. Paul's later references to 
Barnabas indicate that there was no permanent alienation (I Cor. 9^, 
Col. 41°). The separation of these two pioneer apostles to the Gentiles 
appears to have resulted in a tacit, or possibly definitely defined di- 
vision of the Gentile field. Tradition says that Barnabas not only 
went to Cyprus but also to Egypt, which early became an important 
Christian centre. Egypt also had a great Jewish population and 
might well be regarded as belonging to the sphere of activity set aside 
for the Twelve. At least some such implied division of territory 
best explains why Paul with his world-wide outlook and tireless 
zeal never visited nor even alludes in his letters to the populous 
land of the Nile and the flourishing cities on the southern Mediter- 
ranean. 

Starting from Antioch and taking Silas, who was an influential 
member of the Jerusalem church and likewise possessed Roman 
citizenship (Acts 16^^) and was therefore a Hellenist, Paul set out 
northward on the great highway that led through Asia Minor to Rome. 
On the way he probably strengthened the Christian churches which 
he had established during the first thirteen years of his ministry in 
northern Syria and Cilicia. Unfortunately, Luke has not preserved 
the names of these churches. That there was one at Tarsus is reason- 
ably certain. Thence, following the great Roman highway, they passed 
through the cities which Paul had visited together with Barnabas. 
Paul's circumcision of the half -Jewish youth Timothy, whom he wished 
to accompany him on his visit to the strongly Jewish churches at 
Iconium and Galatian Antioch, is not a repudiation of the principles 
for which he contended at Jerusalem but rather an illustration of his 
avowed purpose, with the Jews "to become like a Jew to win over 
Jews." Unfortunately Luke, instead of giving details regarding the 
visit to these churches, has simply introduced one of his general sum- 
maries (Acts, 16^' ^). In keeping with his assumption that Paul had 
accepted the resolutions of James and the other authorities at Jeru- 
salem, he states that Paul formally transmitted these to the different 
churches. What Paul actually did can best be learned from his own 
testimony in his letter to the Galatians. 

105 



PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS 

III. The Occasion of Paul's Letter to the Qalatians. The 

interpreter of Paul's letter to the Galatians is at once confronted with 
a much-debated question. Did Paul write this letter to the churches 
in the Roman province of Galatia, which he and Barnabas had estab- 
lished during their first missionary campaign, or was it written to 
Christian churches farther north organized by Paul in the old province 
of Galatia during his second missionary campaign? Volumes have 
been written in defense of each of these positions and New Testament 
scholars are about equally divided. Fortunately, our appreciation of 
Paul's vigorous letter to the Galatians and of the superb spirit and 
personality which it reveals is not dependent upon the answer to these 
questions. The chief corner-stone of what is known as the "North 
Galatian theory" is Luke's statement in Acts 16^, following his summary 
of Paul's work in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, that **they crossed the 
Phrygian and Galatian region, the Holy Spirit having stopped them 
from preaching the word in Asia; when they got as far as Mysia they 
tried to enter Bithynia, but the spirit of Jesus would not allow them, 
and so they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas." Many hold 
that the most natural interpretation of this statement is that, having 
passed through the Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, which were in ancient 
Phrygia, they turned northward to the old province of Galatia and 
from thence westward to the seaport of Troas. It is difficult, however, 
to explain why Luke is absolutely silent regarding Paul's activity in 
this northern province, if it had been significant enough in its results 
to call forth the powerful letter to the Galatians. In view of Paul's 
avowed purpose, we naturally anticipate that, after leaving Iconium, he 
would go directly to Antioch in Pisidia, which also lay in the Roman 
province of Galatia — in fact, it is almost impossible to believe that 
he failed to visit this important scene of his earlier work. The abso- 
lute absence of any reference or suggestion, either in Acts or in Paul's 
own letters, that implies a period of successful missionary activity 
in the old province of Galatia leaves to the ''North Galatian theory," 
to say the least, a very uncertain and indefinite basis. On the other 
hand, the churches founded by Paul and Barnabas in their first cam- 
paign were on the direct highway from Syria to Rome, and therefore 
most exposed to the influence of the Judaizers to which Paul frequently 
refers in his letter to the Galatians. It is also exceedingly probable 
that Paul the traveller and Roman citizen would use the term Galatia 
in its contemporary Roman rather than in its older local application. 
This conclusion is supported by his custom at other times. In any 

106 



THE OCCASION OF PAUL'S LETTER 

case, the definitely known conditions and problems of the south 
Galatian cities furnish a thoroughly satisfactory explanation of the 
many detailed allusions contained in Paul's famous letter, so that there 
can be little doubt that the churches at Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and 
Derbe were in his mind as he wrote. 

If Galatians was written to these churches, it must have been after 
Paul had revisited them at the beginning of his second missionary 
campaign. His inability to visit them again, to which he alludes at 
the beginning of his letter, suggests strongly that he was not in An- 
tioch nor the East, but already actively engaged in his work either at 
Corinth or Ephesus. Apparently the Judaizers, to which he refers, 
followed close in his footsteps after leaving Antioch and had worked 
quietly and almost unknown to him while he was busy in the western 
field. At the same time the questions involved are the direct after- 
math of the interview at Jerusalem and the reaction at Antioch to 
which Paul refers. It is probable, therefore, that the Epistle to the 
Galatians is one of the three earliest of Paul's letters and was prob- 
ably written during the earlier part of his ministry at Corinth. 

IV. The Literary Structure and Contents of Galatians. 
Paul's letter to the Galatians falls naturally into four divisions, with an 
impassioned introduction found in 1^-^. Chapters V°-2'^^ contain 
Paul's masterful declaration of independence and authority. Rapidly 
and evidently under the pressure of great feeling, he marshals the im- 
portant events in his own career and especially his relations to the 
** pillars" at Jerusalem, concluding the description with a statement 
of the terms agreed upon in his famous interview at Jerusalem and 
their later interpretation at Antioch. The second main division of 
the letter, 3^-5^^, contains his defense of his gospel of freedom from the 
law and of justification by faith through Jesus Christ. In 5^^-6^'' he 
corrects the possible misinterpretations of his gospel of freedom by 
defining the moral responsibility of those that hold the Christian faith. 
The epilogue, 6^^"^^, recapitulates in short, forcible sentences the chief 
points for which he was contending and concludes with the usual 
benediction. This epistle has been appropriately likened to one of the 
dashing mountain torrents, which in many of the fields of Paul's activ- 
ity leap from the heights above, at first sweeping away all opposition, 
but in time gradually broadening out to water the plain below. As 
Sabatier has said, here ** unfinished phrases, daring omissions, paren- 
theses which leave us out of sight and out of breath, rabbinical sub- 
tleties, dashing paradoxes, vehement apostrophes pour on like surging 

107 



PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS 

billows." Here Paul writes as he would doubtless have spoken could 
he have stood in the presence of the faltering and much-confused Chris- 
tians of Galatia. It is Paul the militant who is here revealed, the man 
who quickly proved himself the master of every situation into which 
Providence led him. 

He is fighting here not merely for the faith of the Galatian Christians 
but also for the fundamental principles of Christian liberty. It was 
the age-long issue between the authority of accepted tradition and 
ceremonialism and the authority of the Spirit of God in the heart and 
life of the individual. The principle was the same for which Jesus 
contended against the Pharisees, Luther against the Catholic Church, 
and modern Christianity against ecclesiastical and literalistic con- 
servatism. 

V. Paul's Interpretation of the Significance of the Jewish 
Law and of the Work of Jesus. It is evident that Paul's opponents 
made a strong and plausible appeal to the Galatian Christians. They 
had the whole weight of Jewish tradition back of them. Their charge 
that Paul was an iconoclast, who rejected as useless the greater part 
of the Jewish law, was valid. In comparison with the definite way 
of salvation presented by that law, Paul's gospel must have seemed 
to many minds somewhat vague. In supporting his position Paul 
reveals in this letter his marvellous skill in appealing to the intellects 
as well as to the hearts of men. His first appeal is to the inner spiritual 
experience of the Galatian Christians themselves. Was it the teachings 
of the Judaizers or Paul's gospel which had given them the conscious- 
ness of the presence of the divine Spirit in their hearts and lives ? 
The phenomena of speaking with tongues and miracles had further 
attested the divine origin of his gospel. In Paul's mind this evidence 
of spiritual experience transcended all others. His next fine of evi- 
dence was historical. Abraham, the forefather of his race knew nothing 
of the later law, but to him had been given the divine promises of 
which the work of Jesus was the fruition. These promises had been 
given not only to the descendants of Abraham, but to all, both Jew 
and Gentile, who shared his faith. What, after all, had the law ac- 
complished? In answering this question, Paul evidently drew from 
his own personal experience. It developed, he declared, a conscious- 
ness of sin, which, on the one side, pointed only to death as its just 
penalty, but, on the other hand, in opening the minds of men to the 
need of divine forgiveness, it prepared the way for the fulfilment of 
God's promises and the accomplishment of the work of Jesus. Gen- 

108 



PAUL'S VALUATION OF THE JEWISH LAW 

tiles and Jews alike were subject to the laws of nature, which they 
believed to be controlled by elemental spirits. Hitherto men had been 
like immature children, under the tutelage of the law or of their im- 
perfect religious beliefs; but now at last humanity was about to enter 
into its heritage. Through Jesus, whose central teaching had been 
the fatherhood of God and man's divine sonship, man had been de- 
livered from its old bondage. "He was no longer a slave but a son and 
as son also God's heir." Therefore he assures the Galatian Christians 
that their inner spiritual experience, the consciousness, "of Christ 
formed within them," was the only and supreme evidence that they 
were the heirs of the promises given to Abraham and indeed the sons 
of God. To adopt the rite of circumcision and to go back to the ob- 
servance of the Jewish ceremonial law would be to substitute form for 
the Spirit and to repudiate the divine heritage which had come to them 
through the work of Jesus. 

VI. The Responsibilities of Spiritual Liberty. To Paul, 
faith and Hfe in Christ had brought liberty. Christian liberty is one 
of his favorite themes; but Paul always guarded against its interpre- 
tation as license. He strongly asserts that freedom from the law does 
not mean liberty to follow one's wayward caprices. It means rather, 
constant loyalty to the guidance of the Spirit. Indeed, those who "be-* 
long to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and inclinations.'* 
Furthermore in Paul's vocabulary, liberty is a synonym for responsi- 
bility. Not only is the Christian to bear the fruits of the Spirit (which 
he defines) but also "to bear one another's burdens and so fulfil the 
law of Christ" — that higher spiritual law which has taken the place 
of the old Jewish law. The one supreme principle, he declares, in 
that new law is love: "For the entire law is summed up in one word, 
*You must love your neighbor as yourself.* " Thus the epistle opens 
with powerful invective, which merges into impassioned argument 
and then in conclusion strikes Paul's ever-dominant note, that of love. 

§CLIV. PAUL'S MISSIONARY WORK IN MACEDONIA 

Paul and his associates crossed the Phrygian and Galatian The 
country, but were prevented by the Holy Spirit from preach- i^Tto 
ing the word in the province of Asia. When they reached Troas 
Mysia, they tried to enter Bith3mia, but the Spirit of Jesus leeV 
would not allow them, and so, passing by Mysia, they went 
down to Troas. 

109 



PAUUS WORK IN MACEDONIA 

The There a vision appeared to Paul by night: a man in 

tf iofo Macedonia was standing and appealing to him and saying, 
^^^ Come over into Macedonia and help us. As soon as he 
(»i°) saw the vision, we immediately made efforts to go on to 
Macedonia, inferring that God had called us to preach the 
gospel to them. 
Arrival Then setting sail from Troas, we ran straight to Samo- 
uppP"^ thrace and on the next day to Neapolis, thence to the 
("•") Roman colony of Philippi, which is the foremost city of 
the district of Macedonia. In this city we spent some 
days. 
Lydia's On the sabbath we went outside the gate by the river, 
^?siou where we had reason to believe there was a place of prayer; 
("-") and we sat down and talked to the women who had gath- 
ered. Among our hearers was a woman by the name of 
Lydia, a dealer in purple, who belonged to the city of 
Thyatira and was a worshipper of God. The Lord opened 
her heart to attend to what Paul was saying. When she 
and her household had been baptized, she begged us, say- 
ing, If you are convinced that I am a believer in the Lord, 
come and stay in my house. And she compelled us to 
come. 
The ^ Now it happened as we were going to the place of prayer 
heahng ^^^^ ^ slave girl met us who had a spirit of ventriloquism 
^J^ and brought great profit to her owners by telling fortunes. 
(16-18) She kept following Paul and the rest of us crying aloud, 
These men are servants of the Most High God; they pro- 
claim to you the way of salvation. This she did for many 
days. Then Paul, completely worn out, said to the spirit, 
In the name of Jesus Christ I order you to come out of her. 
And it came out of her immediately. 
The But when her owners saw that their hope of profit was 

ofPaui gone, they caught hold of Paul and Silas and dragged them 
sSas ^^*^ *^® forum before the magistrates. Bringing them be- 
(19-24) fore the praetors they said, These are Jews who are making 
a disturbance in our city; they are proclaiming customs 
which we Romans are not allowed to adopt or observe. The 
crowd also joined in the attack upon them, while the prae- 
tors, after having stripped them, ordered them to be flogged. 
After they had inflicted many lashes upon them they put 

no 



THE ARREST OF PAUL AND SILAS 

them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safe. 
He, on receiving such an order, put them into the inner 
prison and secured their feet in the stocks. 

About midnight, as Paul and Silas were praying and The 
singing to God and while the prisoners were listening to jo^-^^ 
them, there was suddenly such a great earthquake that it J^^^^^ 
shook the very foundations of the prison. All the doors 
immediately flew open and the fetters of all the prisoners 
were unfastened. The jailer, starting up from sleep and 
seeing the prison wide open, drew his sword and was 
about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had made 
their escape. But Paul said with a loud voice. Do not 
harm yourself, for we are all here! So, calling for lights, 
the jailer rushed in, fell trembling before Paul and Silas, 
and brought them out of the prison. Sirs, he said, what 
must I do to be saved ? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, 
said Paul, and both you and your household will be saved. 
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all his 
house. Then he took them at that very hour of the night 
and washed their wounds. And he and all his family were 
immediately baptized. Then taking them to his house, he 
put food before them and rejoiced with all his household 
at having believed in God. 

The next morning the praetors sent the lictors with the The 
order. Release these men. The jailer announced these of the 
words to Paul, saying. The praetors have sent to release fg^ 
you. So now come out and go in peace. But Paul replied, c*-**) 
They flogged us in pubUc without trial, we who are Roman 
citizens ! They put us in prison, and now they are going to 
eject us secretly! Far be it! Rather let them come here 
themselves and take us out. The lictors reported these 
words to the praetors, who, on hearing that the men were 
Roman citizens, were filled with alarm, and came to ap- 
pease them, and, after taking them out of prison, begged 
them to leave the city. So leaving the prison, they went 
to Lydia's house, where they saw the brothers and en- 
couraged them; then they departed. pSacL 

Then travelling on to Amphipolis and ApoUonia, they ^g^ 
reached Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish syna- saion- 
gogue. And, as was his custom, Paul went in to them and (iji-*) 

111 



PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA 

for three sabbaths argued with them from the scriptures, 
explaining and quoting passages to show that the Mes- 
siah had to suffer and rise from the dead, and that the Jesus 
I proclaim to you is the Messiah. Some were persuaded 
and attached themselves to Paul and Silas, including 
many devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 
The But the Jews, stirred by jealousy, called to their aid some 

Sndied idle fellows and formed a mob and set the city in an up- 
^l^s^ roar. Attacking Jason's house, they endeavored to bring 
(*-») Paul and Silas out before the people, but failing to find 
them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before 
the politarchs, shouting. These men, who have raised a 
tumult through the whole world, have come here too! 
Jason has welcomed them! These all violate the decrees 
of Csesar by declaring that there is another king called 
Jesus. Great was the excitement among the crowd and 
the politarchs when they heard this; but after binding 
Jason and the others over to keep the peace, they released 
them. 
Paul Then the brothers at once sent off Paul and Silas at 

luiat night to Beroea. And they, on arriving there, went to the 
fyZ^^ Jewish synagogue. The people there were more noble 
than at Thessgdonica, for they very readily received the 
word and daily studied the scripttires to see if it really was 
as Paul said. As a result many of them believed, together 
with a large number of prominent Greeks, both men and 
women. 
Pauls But as soon as the Jews of Thessalonica heard that the 
neTto word of God was being proclaimed at Beroea as well, they 
nii^^ came to create a disturbance there and a riot among the 
crowd at Beroea. Then the brothers at once sent Paul 
down to the sea coast, while Silas and Timothy remained 
there. Those who accompanied Paul brought him as far 
as Athens and left with orders that Silas and Timothy were 
to come to him as soon as possible. 

I. Paul's Quest of a New Mission Field. The narrative of 
Acts 16^"' is exceedingly condensed and leaves us in uncertainty re- 
garding many questions. The inference is that Paul, all the way from 
Iconium until he finally found himself at Troas, was seeking vainly 

112 



PAUL'S QUEST OF A NEW FIELD 

for a suitable field for missionary activity. The phrases ''forbidden 
by the Holy Spirit" and "the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them" 
are already familiar to the reader of the book of Acts. In Acts 21^ 
it is stated that the disciples **told Paul by the Spirit not to set foot 
in Jerusalem." This statement apparently points to a prophetic 
utterance under the influence of ecstasy, and the same psychological 
phenomena probably lie back of the statements in Acts 16. Accord- 
ing to Acts 15^^ Silas, Paul's companion, already had a reputation as 
a prophet. It is possible that he was the spokesman of the Spirit on 
these occasions. The analogy of Galatians 2^ points, however, to a 
decision in Paul's own mind made under the influence of a careful 
consideration of the facts involved. This was apparently the way 
in which he made most of the important decisions of his life. Facts 
and truths, which were more or less central in his thought, were sud- 
denly and, as it seemed to him, miraculously crystallized into an abso- 
lute conviction which he regarded as divinely inspired and which he 
henceforth followed unfalteringly. Even though the narrative of 
Acts at this point is meagre, it is possible to conjecture what were the 
underlying reasons which led Paul to turn aside from the Roman 
province of Asia and its chief city Ephesus, which evidently from the 
first had been the objective of his second missionary campaign. It is 
probable that already a small Christian community was found at 
Ephesus and therefore to go there was to break one of Paul's funda- 
mental rules, namely, not to ''build on another man's foundation" 
(Rom. 15^°). It was also the seat of an exceedingly popular and 
strongly intrenched heathen cult. When Paul ultimately visited it, 
it proved a very difficult field. The province of Bithynia, from which 
he was also turned aside, was situated in the northwestern corner of 
Asia Minor. Pliny the Younger in his famous letter to Trajan, written 
near the beginning of the second Christian century, indicates that 
Christianity at a very early period had gained a strong foothold in 
this province. It is not at all improbable that when Paul drew near 
to Bithynia he learned that already other Christian missionaries had 
anticipated him. From a topographical point of view it was also a 
difficult field to traverse, and it is probable that the effects of the ill- 
ness, to which Paul refers in his letters, still deterred him from doing 
what his indomitable spirit longed to accomplish. Thus hemmed in 
on every side, he at last found himself at the end of the great Roman 
highway which led from Syria to Europe. Troas was the door that 
led across the -^gean to Europe and to Rome itself, the ultimate goal 

113 



PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA 

of Paul's ambition. Should he abandon his well-established policy 
of pressing on from province to province, leaving no important 
strategic centres behind him, and follow instead the great Roman 
highway across the sea? Would he succeed, if he left behind him 
the more distinctly Jewish background and entered the very different 
Greek world? 

II. Paul's Vision at Troas. It is significant that at this point 
in Acts the history is written in the first person. This personal testi- 
mony continues until Paul reaches Philippi and again appears when he 
comes back to Philippi on his way to Jerusalem and ultimately to Rome. 
The most natural explanation of these facts is that Luke lived at 
Philippi, and that either by chance or previous arrangement he first 
met Paul at Troas. Ramsay's suggestion that the prototype of the 
man of Macedonia, who figures in Paul's vision, was Luke himself 
has much to commend it. The words which came to Paul in his vision 
from the lips of the man in Macedonia, "Come over into Macedonia 
and help us," suggest strongly that the one who uttered them was 
already a follower of Jesus and eager to secure the co-operation of the 
great apostle to the Gentiles. The fact that Paul went directly to 
Philippi and began there rather than at Thessalonica his mission to the 
Macedonians strongly indicates that the words of Luke lay in the 
background of Paul's consciousness when he had his epoch-making 
vision. Such incidents, as well as the vision itself, were in perfect 
harmony with similar experiences in Paul's life. Even as the young 
patriot Isaiah, laboring under a sense of personal responsibility, sud- 
denly beheld a vision of Jehovah in his temple and was thereby conse- 
crated and committed to his life-work, so Paul in one significant mo- 
ment left behind all uncertainty and recognized that he was divinely 
committed to the evangelization of Macedonia. 

III. Paul's Work in Philippi. Paul on landing on the northern 
shore of the iEgean passed through the seaport of Neapolis and pressed 
nine miles northward to Philippi, not the metropolis of Macedonia as 
the author of Acts states, but the chief city on the southern end of a 
great plain. This was bounded on the east by a river which lost it- 
self in a huge marsh to the south of the city. Here in 42 B.C. Octavian 
and Anthony fought their great decisive battle against Brutus and 
Cassius. Here the ideal of a republic fell before that of an empire. 
Octavian in his gratitude for the victory made Philippi a Roman 
colony and gave it a thoroughly Roman form of government. Here 
Paul found a small Jewish community, too small to support a syna- 

114 



PAUL'S WORK IN PHILIPPI 

gogue but accustomed on the Jewish Sabbath to meet for worship by 
the riverside. In this group Paul found Greek proselytes as well as 
Jews. Chief among them was a certain Lydia from the Lydian city 
of Thyatira. She was evidently a woman of great ability and pos- 
sessed of considerable wealth, for she appears to have had a bazaar, 
as well as a home in Philippi. To her Paul's preaching appealed so 
strongly that she offered her home as a centre for his work. There 
he apparently remained for some months. 

Certain details in Paul's experience at Philippi stand out clearly 
and are obviously based on the extracts from the journal of travel. 
The story of the slave girl, "who had a spirit of ventriloquism," gives a 
vivid impression of the religious and social environment amid which 
Paul worked. Evidently the girl possessed a keen mind, like many 
of the slaves to be found during that period throughout the broad 
bounds of the Roman Empire, for her success in predicting the future 
of those who appealed to her for a divine response was clearly due to 
her power of insight and inventive genius. Her attitude toward Paul 
and his fellow workers indicates that she appreciated the truth of 
their teaching and that she was apparently eager to help them. Her 
words and deeds, as reported, are a public confession of faith in their 
teaching. Paul, however, was evidently annoyed by the fact that 
that confession seemed to come through the medium of heathen 
divination. His words to her were therefore of the nature both of a 
command and of a rebuke. They produced the desired result. Evi- 
dently she had hitherto believed in her miraculous powers; but now 
Paul's words through suggestion had acted as an inhibition. There- 
fore she could not go on as formerly. Her silence is possibly an index 
that she accepted the apostle's teaching. That Paul believed that she 
was possessed of an unclean spirit cannot be doubted in the light of 
his assertion in I Corinthians 10^°. The terms in which he addressed 
her recall Jesus' rebuke to the man possessed of an unclean spirit in 
the synagogue at Capernaum (Mark 2^^). Furthermore, that Paul 
believed that he had performed a miracle cannot be doubted, for he 
plainly asserts his conviction that he possessed this power in II Co- 
rinthians 12^2. The slave girl's masters, in their mad frenzy, at first 
succeeded in playing on the prejudices of the Roman rulers of Philippi. 
Hatred of everything Jewish was then common throughout the Roman 
Empire, and Philippi was especially jealous of its Roman citizenship. 
Paul's personal appearance may have also aroused this race antago- 
nism. Soon the city mob was seized with the same fanatical frenzy. 

115 



PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA 

In these circumstances it was futile for Paul to urge in defense his 
Roman citizenship. Without waiting for the formality of a judicial 
trial, the praetors gave the cruel command to flog him and his associ- 
ates. While Paul does not refer to this experience in his later letter 
to the Philippians, he does declare in II Corinthians 11^ that he was 
**thrice beaten with rods," indicating that on two other occasions his 
Roman citizenship was not sufficient to deliver him from this horrible 
indignity. 

It is possible that the account of the imprisonment of Paul and Silas 
has been influenced by the late tradition of Peter's imprisonment found 
in Acts 5^^'^. The present narrative, however, does not claim that the 
disciples were supernaturally liberated but simply states that a violent 
earthquake shook the very foundations of the prison, loosening the 
bars from the prison doors and the chains which bound the prisoners. 
In view of the insecure construction of prisons in this part of the 
world even to-day the phenomena described are not without analogies. 
Paul's action in this crisis is characteristic. As later, when ship- 
wrecked, the prisoner suddenly becomes the master of the situation. 
Out of sheer admiration and gratitude the jailer, who doubtless had 
previously heard Paul's preaching and been impressed by his personality, 
voiced spontaneously the need and the belief that was already ger- 
minating within him. Paul throughout all his ministry revealed a 
marvellous adaptability to every change of circumstance. Dramatic 
indeed is the picture of his preaching in the darkness of the earth- 
quake-shaken prison to the frightened jailer and his prisoners. Pos- 
sibly the earthquake was effectual in restoring the judicial prudence of 
the Roman prsetors, for at dawn they sent the command to loose the 
prisoners whom they had so unjustly treated. Thus it is that Paul 
was able to gain a hearing for his assertion that he and Silas were 
Roman citizens, with the result that the Philippian judges came in 
person to beg their prisoners to leave the town and that they were 
thankful thus to escape the consequences of their rash action. 

Paul left behind him at Philippi a small but exceedingly devoted 
band of Christians that during the rest of his life was an unceasing 
source of joy to him. Their personal devotion to him was most marked. 
At least twice they sent funds for the support of his work at Thes- 
salonica (Phil. 4^^); again at Corinth he was cheered by their gifts 
(II Cor. 11^°); and the one supreme love-letter that comes down to 
us from his lips was prompted by a similar evidence of their affection 
when he was a prisoner, facing death at Rome (Phil. 4^°- ^^). 

116 



FOUNDING THE CHURCH AT THESSALONICA 

rV. The Founding of the Church at Thessalonica. Paul 

left Philippi, not as a fugitive, but at the request of the magistrates. 
His plan of campaign is again illustrated by the fact that he passed 
by the smaller cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia and went directly 
to Thessalonica, the metropolis of Macedonia. It was majestically 
situated at the head of the Theramic Gulf in a great natural ampi- 
theatre and looked southeastward toward the iEgean Sea. Here the 
Egnatian Way met the highways of commerce that radiated from the 
northern ^Egean through the rich plains to the north. Commercially 
and strategically it resembled Corinth in many ways. It was a free 
Greek city, ruled by politarchs and proud of its independence and 
prestige. The opportunities of trade had attracted here a strong Jew- 
ish colony. The Jewish faith had also won many Greek proselytes. 

As usual, the author of Acts emphasizes Paul's public preaching, 
especially in the Jewish synagogue. Fortunately in Paul's letters to 
the Christians of Thessalonica he has given vivid pictures of his work 
and experiences there. He found living in this great commercial city 
expensive. Night and day he worked at his trade of tent-making, 
while he told his fellow workmen about Jesus (I Thess. 2^). The ma- 
jority of the converts were from the poorer classes (II Cor. 8^). Most 
of them were Greeks, for he states that his chief task was to turn them 
from idols to the service of the living and real God and to prepare them 
for the coming of his son Jesus, who would deliver them from the 
wrath that threatened (I Thess. l^- ^°). The idea of the parousia or 
coming of Antiochus or of Augustus or of a god was familiar to the 
devout Greeks, as we now know from many contemporary inscrip- 
tions. Eagerly they entered into the expectation of a speedy coming 
of the divine king whom Paul proclaimed. Indeed, as the event proved, 
they were too eager, for their expectations in time affected unfavorably 
their ordinary activity (II Thess. 2). 

Paul's teaching regarding the coming of Jesus was apparently also 
the basis of the charge which the Jews preferred against him and 
Silas. While Paul does not directly refer to it in his letters, this is 
probably the reason for his reference to the Jews as those "who offend 
God and oppose all men by hindering us from speaking words of sal- 
vation to the Gentiles" (I Thess. 2^^). Here, as at Philippi, Paul's 
assailants did not trust to a fair judicial trial but aroused the mob to 
support their indefinite charge. Warned by previous experience, Paul 
and Silas had found refuge in concealment. Jason, at whose house 
they had been received, and certain others of the Christian converts 

117 



PAUL'S WORK IN MACEDONIA 

resident at Thessalonica were dragged before the politarchs on the 
hysterical charge of having entertained ''these upsetters of the whole 
world" who were treasonably proclaiming that not Augustus but Jesus 
was king. The charge is an echo of that which was brought by the 
Jewish high priests against Jesus himself. Although the rulers of 
Thessalonica were especially sensitive to a charge of this kind, they 
evidently recognized its absm'dity and simply put Jason and his as- 
sociates under bond to keep the peace. The incident, however, marked 
the end of the personal work of Paul and Silas at Thessalonica. Even 
though their sojourn there had been limited to a few months, Paul 
emphatically declared: "Our visit to you was no failure" (I Thess. 2^). 
The foundations were laid for a strong, democratic, loyal Christian 
church, which was one of the crowns of his missionary activity. 

V. Paul's Work at Beroea. The public attack upon Paul and 
Silas led the Christian brothers to send them off by night to Bercea, 
fifty miles southwest of Thessalonica. This secluded Greek town was 
on the western side of a fertile plain that extended eastward to the 
iEgean Sea. It was flanked on the west by Mount Bermius, from 
whence came cool, flowing streams to water the groves and fields that 
encircled it. It proved a quiet haven of refuge for the apostles. While 
Paul would naturally have chosen a more important centre, he again 
illustrated his zeal and marvellous adaptability. In a short time he 
gathered about him an earnest band of Christian believers. The 
narrative of Acts states that he found here a better class of Jews than 
at the great commercial city of Thessalonica. It also states that his 
method was not so much that of public preaching as teaching. Here, 
as at Philippi and Thessalonica, he was doubtless working out with his 
fellow converts the doctrines that he later incorporates in his letters 
to the Corinthians and Romans. The majority of the Christian con- 
verts at Beroea were evidently Greeks, and numbered many prominent 
men and women. This is implied by the narrative of Acts and con- 
firmed by the fact that Sopater, the son of Pyrrhus, clearly a Greek, 
was the representative of this church, who later accompanied Paul to 
Jerusalem (Acts 20^). 

VI. The Results of Paul's Work in Macedonia. The chrono- 
logical data in Acts are at this point indefinite, but it is probable that 
Paul's missionary campaign in Macedonia did not extend over more 
than a year. It represented days and weeks of intense physical and 
religious work. Much of it was done in the face of strong opposition; 
but on the whole it was for him a period of great joy and exaltation. 

lis 



THE RESULT OF PAUL'S WORK 

Here at last he demonstrated beyond all question the adaptability of 
the Gospel of and about Jesus to the purely Greek world. He must 
also have been profoundly impressed at this time by the readiness of 
the Gentiles for that new religion. Christianity was no longer the 
faith of a little Palestinian sect, but was rapidly becoming a universal 
world religion. At this time Paul also succeeded in planting the leaven 
of Christianity in two of the most important cities of southern Europe, 
which lay on the main highway that led directly to Rome. The 
Jewish element in these Macedonian churches appears to have been 
insignificant. Jason (the Greek form of Joshua and Jesus) of Thes- 
salonica is the only distinctively Jewish name that appears in the 
record. Otherwise the relatively long list of converts mentioned in 
Acts and in Paul's letters all bear unmistakably Greek names. Dur- 
ing his work in Macedonia Paul succeeded in establishing especially 
strong personal relations with the individual converts. As he faced 
new and more diSicult fields, their love and warm friendship, as well 
as help, were his constant inspiration. During this period also he was 
training an efficient body of assistants. With the exception of Timothy 
they appear to have all been enlisted from this new field. We know 
the names of at least four who were native Macedonians: Sopater, 
Aristarchus, Secundus, and Gains (Acts 19^^, 20^). To this list should 
perhaps be added the name of Luke. In Paul's later letter to the 
Philippians he mentions two women and three other men who were 
his active co-workers. In Macedonia Paul also realized in fullest 
measure his purpose to make each new Christian community the basis 
for the extension of the Gospel to other centres. Apparently in no 
other field did he succeed so well in implanting his intense missionary 
spirit. Until the very end of his life gifts to the "saints" in Jerusalem 
and to Paul himself were sent forth by the poor Christians of Mace- 
donia whom he had helped so effectually. 

§CLV. PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE CHRISTIANS AT 
THESSALONICA 

Paul, Silas and Timothy to the Church of the Thes- saiu- 
salonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: If'^^^ 
grace and peace to you. xhess. 

We always thank God for you all when we make men- 
tion of you in our prayers. We never fail to remember 
your works of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope 

119 



10 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

Paul's in our Lord, Jesus Christ, before our God and Father. 
Sde' O brothers, beloved by God, we know that he hath chosen 
fideii? y^^* ^^^ ^^^ gospel came to you not with mere words but 
ofthe^ with power and with the Holy Spirit and with great con- 
So-" viction. For you know what sort of men we were among 
^-tJf you for your sakes. And you are imitators of the examples 
set by us and by the Lord, receiving the word amidst great 
affliction, with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thus you 
became a pattern to all the believers in Macedonia and 
Achaia; for the word of God has resounded from you not 
only through Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God 
has reached every place, so that we have no need to speak 
about it. People tell us of their own accord how we were 
received by you and how you turned to God from idols to 
serve a Hving and real God and to await the coming of his 
Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who 
rescues us from the wrath to come. 
The For you yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you 

^d^* was not a failure. But, as you know, although at Philippi 
con- we had been ill-treated and outraged, we took courage in our 
o?tiie God to tell you the gospel of God under great strain. For 
tfis^ our appeal does not spring from any delusion, nor from an 
(21-12) unclean motive, nor is there any fraud in it. Rather we 
have been tested by God that we may be intrusted with 
the gospel. Therefore, we speak not to please men, but 
God who tests our hearts; for as you well know we have 
never resorted to flattery nor to any pretext for self seeking. 
God is witness; we never sought honor from men, from 
you, nor from any others, though as apostles of Christ we 
might have claimed authority. On the contrary, while we 
were among you we were as gentle as a mother, nursing her 
own children. Since we were thus drawn to you by Sec- 
tion, we would gladly have imparted to you not only the gos- 
pel of God, but have given our very Uves also, for you have 
become very dear to us. Brothers, you remember our hard 
labor and toil, how we worked at our trade night and day 
so as not to become a burden to any of you, while we preached 
the gospel of God to you. You are witnesses and so is 
God how pious and upright and blameless we acted toward 
each one of you, even as a father toward his own chil- 

120 



THE SPIRIT AND CONDUCT OF THE APOSTLES 

dren, beseeching you, encouraging you, and charging you 
to live lives worthy of the God who calleth you to share his 
own kingdom in glory. 

And for this we also thank God unceasingly, that when The 
you received God's message from us, you embraced it, not e^^f 
as a human word, but for what it really is, the word of God, ]^e 
which also works in the hearts of you who beUeve. For saio^ 
you, brothers, have followed the examples of the churches ^^^j, 
of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judea in that you have perse- 
suffered from your fellow cotmtrymen just as those churches l^-l^^ 
have suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and 
the prophets. Your countrymen now persecute us and are 
not pleasing God, but oppose all men by preventing us from 
preaching to the Gentiles that they may be saved. Thus 
they continually fill up the measure of tiieir own sins; but 
the wrath has come upon them at last ! 

Brothers, when we were separated from you for a little Pauis 
time (out of sight, not out of mind!), we were the more in- goiJ-5 
tently eager to see you, for we did want to come to you — I tude 
did, I, Paul, more than once — ^but Satan hindered us. For 
who is * our hope, our joy, our crown * of which we boast? 
Is it not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus 
at his coming? Yes, you are our glory and joy! 

So when I could bear it no longer, I decided to remain The 
behind at Athens alone, and I sent Timothy, our brother ^g% 
and minister of God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, for Tm- 
your strengthening and encouragement in the faith that (s^? 
none of you might be disturbed by these present troubles; 
for you yourselves know that they are our appointed lot. 
And this is so, for even when we were with you, we fore- 
warned you, saying that, ^ We are soon to suffer affliction,' 
and so it proved as you know. I on this account, being im- 
able to bear it any longer, sent to find out about your faith, 
lest perchance the tempter had tempted you and our labor 
had been lost. 

But now that Timothy has just come back to us from you Tim- 
and has brought us the good news of your faith and love rlvon 
and how you always remember me affectionately, longing ('■') 
to see us, as we also long to see you, we have been com- 
forted about you, brothers, in aU our distress and trouble 

121 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

because of yotir faith. For now we live indeed, if you but 
stand firm in the Lord. 
Paul's How can we give thanks enough to God for you in return 
^le" for all the joy which we experience because of you in the 
and ^ presence of our God? Night and day we pray most ear- 
tovlhl nestly that we may see your faces and supply whatever is 
g^^ lacking in your faith. May our God and Father and our 
mans Lord Jesus direct our way to you, and may the Lord make 
you increase and excel in love to one another and to all 
men, even as is our love toward you, so as to strengthen 
your hearts and make them blameless in holiness before 
our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with 
all his holy ones. 
The Finally, brothers, we beg and beseech you in the Lord 

S^^ Jesus to follow our instructions about the way you ought to 
obiiga- ^^^^ ^^ order to please God. You are indeed leading that 
tions life, but I write that you may excel in it still more. For 
chi^ you know the conunands we laid upon you on the authority 
S^2) of the Lord Jesus. For it is God's will that you should be 
pure, that you abstain from sexual vice, that each of you 
learn to take for himself a wife, who shall be his own, in 
purity and honor, not to gratify sexual passion as do the 
Gentiles who have no knowledge of God; and that in this 
matter there be no encroaching on or over-reaching the 
rights of his brother, for the Lord avengeth all these sins, 
as we have already taught you and soundly warned you. 
For God did not call us to an unclean but to a pure life. 
Therefore, he who disregards this disregards not man but 
the God who gave you his Holy Spirit. There is no need 
that I should write you in regard to brotherly love, for you 
yourselves are taught by God to love one another, as in- 
deed, is your practice toward all the brothers in all of Mace- 
donia. We beseech you, brothers, to excel in this more and 
more and to endeavor to live peacefully, to attend to your 
own business, and, as we charged you, work with your own 
hands, so that you may live worthy Uves in your relations 
to those about, and not be a burden to anyone. 

We do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, regarding 
those who sleep the sleep of death, lest you should mourn 
as others do who have no hope, for if we believe that Jesus 

122 



THE FUTURE OF THE FAITHFUL 

died and rose again, we also believe that God by means of The^ 
Jesus will bring with him those who have fallen asleep, for ^f*"^® 
we tell you, as on the Lord's own authority, that we who are ^ose 
alive and survive until the Lord comes will by no means Save 
take precedence of those who have fallen asleep. The ^^^ 
Lord himself will descend from heaven «with a shout, with faith 
the voice of an archangel and with the trtmipet of God. 
Then the dead in Christ will rise first, afterwards we who 
are alive and survive will be caught up along with them in 
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will be 
with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another 
with these words. 

But as to times and dates, brothers, it is unnecessary The 
that anything be written to you. For you know perfectly c^^g 
well that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night, (s^^) 
When men are saying. Peace and safety, then all of a sud- 
den destruction is upon them, like birtii pangs on a preg- 
nant woman, and escape there is none. But you, brokers, 
are not in darkness that the day should surprise you like 
a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. 
We do not belong to the night nor the darkness. So then 
let us not sleep lie the rest of men, but let us keep awake 
and be sober; for sleepers sleep by night, while drunkards 
drink at night. But we who belong to the day must be 
sober, clad in faith and love as our coat of mail and the 
hope of salvation as our helmet. For God destined us not 
for wrath but to attain salvation through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who died for us that waking or sleeping in death 
we should live together with him. Therefore encourage 
one another and let each edify the other, as indeed you are 
doing. 

Brothers, we beg you to show respect for those who are con- 
laboring among you and are your leaders in the Lord and eSS?-^ 
advise you. Hold them in special esteem and love on ac- tation 
count of the work they are doing. Be at peace among 
yourselves. We beseech you, brothers, admonish the im- 
ruly, comfort the faint-hearted, sustain the weak, be pa- 
tient toward all. See that no one of you pays back evil 
for evil, but always seek for opportunities of doing good to 
one another and to all men. Rejoice at all times, pray 

123 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

unceasingly. In every circumstance be thankful, for this 
is God's will in Christ Jesus respecting you. Do not 
quench the Spirit, do not disdain prophetic utterances, but 
test them all, retain what is good ; abstain from every form 
of evil. 
Bene- May the God of peace entirely consecrate you. May 
diction yQ^ |3g ^^^^ spirit, soul, and body, complete and blameless 
siS? ^^*^ ^® coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls 
tion ^" you is faithful and he will do it. Brothers, pray for us. 
(23-28) Salute all the brothers with a holy kiss. I solemnly charge 
you by the Lord to have this letter read aloud to all the 
brothers. 
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 

Super- Paul, Silas and Timothy to the church of the Thes- 
tionof salonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Pauls Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord 

second ,- y~- . , 

letter Jesus Chnst. 

Thess. We are bound unceasingly to thank God for you, brothers ; 
>'•') it is appropriate that we should because your faith is grow- 
Paui's ing greatly and the love of each of you for all the others 
tude' ^^ increasing. The result is that throughout the churches 
e ^) of God we are proud of you, because of your steadfastness 
and faith amidst all the persecutions and troubles which 
you are enduring. They are plain proof of God*s justice; 
you are suffering for the Kingdom of God and he means 
to make you worthy of it. 
The As regards the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our 

jS!i°^ being gathered to meet him, we beg you, brothers, not to 
second let your minds become easily unsettled or disturbed by 
(21^^^ any spiritual revelation, or any declaration, or any letter 
purporting to come from me to lie effect the day of the Lord 
is now here. Let no one in any way deceive you. It will 
not come until the great act of apostasy first comes and 
the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, the 
adversary who vaunts himself against and above every so- 
called god or object of worship so that he seats himself in 
the very temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do 
you not remember that I used to tell you these things when 
I was still with you ? Therefore, you now know what re- 

124 



JESUS' SECOND COMING 

strained him from being revealed before his appointed time. 
For the secret force of lawlessness is already at work, only 
it cannot be revealed until he who restrains it is removed. 

Finally, brothers, pray for us that the word of God may Pauls 
spread rapidly and be glorified, as in your own case, and Jo?^®^* 
that we may be deUvered from unreasonable and evil men, P^f/®'' 
for the faith is not shared by all. But the Lord is faithful; 
he will surely strengthen you and guard you from the evil 
one. Now, we have confidence in you in the Lord that you 
are doing and will do what we command. May the Lord 
direct your hearts in the love of God and the patience of 
Christ. 

We command you, brothers, in the name of the Lord The 
Jesus Christ to shtm any brother who is an idler and not Sf 
living according to the teaching which he received from us. ^P^^^ 
For you yourselves know that it is your duty to follow our wSrk*^ 
example ; we did not act disorderly in your midst nor did we i^a^^^ 
eat any one's bread without paying for it. Rather we la- j^^- 
bored and toiled hard day and night so as not to be a burden (^-4 
to any of you. This was not because we have no right; it 
was simply that we might give you an example that you 
might imitate us. For even while we were with you, we laid 
down this rule : * If a man is not willing to work, he shall 
not eat.* But we hear that some of your number are idlers 
and mere busy-bodies. Now by the authority of the Lord 
Jesus, we command and exhort such to work quietly and 
eat their own bread. But you yourselves, brothers, must 
not grow weary of doing what is right. If any one will not 
obey our command in this letter, mark that man, do not 
associate with him so that he may be made to feel ashamed. 
Do not regard him as an enemy, caution him as a brother. 

May the Lord of peace himself, continually grant you Fare- 
peace in every sense. The Lord be with you all. The gi^g. 
salutation is in my own hand, PauPs. This is a mark in ^s 
every letter. This is how I write. The grace of our Lord 
Jesus Christ be with you all. 

I. The General Structure of Paul's Letters. Deissmann 
{Light From the Ancient East, pp. 218-221) has drawn a sharp distinction 

125 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

between a letter and an epistle. Recent excavations have disclosed 
many examples of these two types of literature and have thrown 
much light upon the literary form of Paul's writings. The epistle was 
frequently used by the philosophers and teachers of the period to set 
forth their doctrines. These were essentially essays or discourses 
set in the epistolary form. Of this type of literature Paul's Epistle 
to the Romans is an excellent example. Of the simple letter his per- 
sonal note to Philemon or the short note to the Ephesian Christians, 
found in the last chapter of Romans, are good illustrations. It is 
difficult, however, to rigidly classify the rest of Paul's writings either 
as letters or epistles, for the one almost insensibly merges into the other. 
It is clear, however, that Paul's epistles grew out of his habit of making 
public addresses and of writing personal letters. His first letter to the 
Thessalonians illustrates excellently the way in which a personal 
letter naturally developed into an epistle. With the exception of his 
letter to the Galatians, which was written to meet an imperative 
situation and under the influence of hot indignation, Paul's letters all 
possess the same general literary structure. They open with the salu- 
tation, giving the names of those to whom they are addressed and 
conclude with the Greek word grace and the equivalent of the ancient 
Hebrew word peace. It probably corresponds to the blessing which 
opened every Jewish synagogue service and suggests the correspond- 
ing order in the early Christian service, which was clearly modelled 
after the Jewish. The salutation was followed by words of thanksgiv- 
ing and of commendation of the virtues of those whom he addressed 
and a prayer that these might continue. Being a wise teacher, Paul 
appreciated the value of sincere appreciation as a premise, even to the 
most severe condemnation. The third element in his letters was a 
statement of the thesis or doctrine which he wished to emphasize. 
This represented the heart of each epistle. It was followed in turn by 
practical moral applications of the principle stated and by earnest 
exhortations. When Paul wished to add personal notes or directions, 
these were introduced at this point and the letter or epistle concluded 
with a benediction, even as did the Jewish synagogue service. Some- 
times Paul places greater emphasis on the doctrinal teachings and 
sometimes on the direct applications and exhortations, but with prac- 
tically no exceptions each epistle contains these distinctive elements 
and in the same general order. 

II. The Literary Characteristics of Paul's Letters. The 
contents, as well as his frequent statements, leave little doubt that 

126 



LITERARY CHARACTERISTICS OF PAUL'S LETTERS 

Paul usually dictated his letters. It is fortunate that he did so, for 
the epistles which have come down to us are as a result faithful repre- 
sentations of the exact way in which he talked or preached. All 
that is lacking are his intonations and gestures, and these are some- 
times implied by the context. It is possible that the scribes to whom 
Paul dictated his letters were masters of the short-hand system of 
writing which was well known at this period. As a rule the dictation 
was taken down on waxed tablets in a cursive script. If the letter was 
short, the wax impression was sent. If it were long, as were most of 
Paul's letters, it was carefully copied on rolls of papyrus. In one 
case we know the name of Paul's scribe. In the short letter to the 
Christians at Ephesus, which is now found in the sixteenth chapter of 
Romans, we find this postscript: "I, Tertius, who write the letter, 
salute you in the Lord." 

It has been suggested that Paul, coming from the ranks of the 
laboring class, was not himself a fluent writer and that he avoided when- 
ever possible the mechanical work of writing. The postscript to II 
Thessalonians ends with the statement: "The salutation is in my own 
hand, Paul's. That is a mark in every letter of mine. This is how I 
write. Let the grace of Jesus Christ be with you all." It impHes that 
he never added more than a line or two and this simply for the piu*- 
pose of confirming the genuineness of his letters. His literary style 
reveals at points the results of his habit of dictating, for evidently the 
ideas often followed each other so rapidly that the amanuensis had 
difficulty in transcribing them. This characteristic is especially marked 
in his passionate epistle to the Galatians (2^-^°). Like Jesus, he was 
fond of striking paradoxes, as for example: "When I am weak, then am 
I strong." Many passages in his epistles are characterized by certain 
rhythmical accents and balanced syllables which are clearer in Greek, 
yet apparent even in an Enghsh translation. Thus, for example, in I 
Corinthians 15^' ^^ we read: "And so it is with the resurrection of the 
dead: 

It is sown corruptible, 

It rises incorruptible; 

It is sown inglorious, 

It rises in glory; 

It is sown in weakness. 

It rises in power; 

It is sown an animate body. 

It rises a spiritual body." 
127 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

Paul was also a master of the rhetorical climax, as is well illustrated 
in the classical passage, I Corinthians IQ^^-^. In this respect there is 
a striking contrast between Paul the cosmopolitan, with his varied 
culture, acquainted with the complex life of the city, and Jesus the 
peasant, a keen lover of nature, reared amidst the simple life of Pales- 
tine. Jesus' literary style is simple, direct, and limpid; Paul's is 
complex, often involved, and in some cases even turgid. Jesus drew 
most of his illustrations from the life of the country; Paul from the 
teeming life of the city. Both, however, revealed the powerful influ- 
ence of the earlier wisdom teachers of their race and both employed 
the epigrammatic method in presenting their teachings. Thus, for 
example, in I Corinthians 3^ Paul declares: 

I planted, ApoUos watered. 

But God made the seed grow; 

So neither planter nor the waterer is important, 

But God who maketh the seed grow. 

The Old Testament which Paul used was the Septuagint or Greek 
translation. To him all written therein was practically of equal 
authority. Like the Jewish rabbis of his day and most of the early 
Christian teachers, he employed at times the literalistic and allegoriz- 
ing methods in interpreting these older scriptures. Freely he used 
whatever seemed to be adapted to the point which he was endeavoring 
to prove. As a result his logic often depended upon the superficial 
rather than the fundamental meaning of the earlier biblical passages. 
His method of reasoning is intuitive rather than logical. His hterary 
style is that of a religious mystic rather than that of the cold, dogmatic 
theologian. It appeals primarily to the heart rather than to the reason. 
It is also suffused with a brilliant, glowing imagination and profound 
emotion. It is inspired by the wide experiences and the deep feelings 
of the great apostle. Through it all one feels his intense zeal, his 
kinetic personality, his heroic devotion, and his warm love for his 
fellow men. The famous hymn to love in I Corinthians 13 is beyond 
question the crown of Paul's literary efforts. Of it the classical Greek 
scholar von Norden has said: "Since the hymn of Cleanthes nothing at 
once so heartfelt and magnificent had been written in Greek." The 
perennial charm of Paul's literary style, however, is not his logic nor 
finished literary form but the man himself and the heroic devotion to 
a great cause which are revealed in every sentence which comes from 
his lips. 

128 



THE OCCASION OF PAUL'S FIRST LETTER 

III. The Occasion of Paul's First Letter to the ThessaIo= 
nians. Paul had taken temporary refuge in Beroea in the hope that 
he might be able to return to his friends and converts at Thessaloniea; 
but developments there rendered this impossible. Hence he turned 
southward, first to Athens and then to Corinth, from which he watched 
intently the course of events in Thessaloniea. Great was his rehef, 
therefore, when Timothy came bringing direct news. It is evident 
that Timothy also brought to Paul a letter from the Christians at 
Thessaloniea and that the wording of his first letter to them is largely 
determined by what they had said to him. Thus, for example, in I 
Thessalonians 2^^ he replies, "We also thank God constantly for you," 
implying that they had said the same of Paul and Silas. His state- 
ment, "You are our glory and joy" (in 2^^' ^o) probably also echoes the 
protestations of the loyal Thessalonians who were eager to repudiate 
the position taken by certain of their number who had openly questioned 
Paul's sincerity on account of his failure to return to them. The 
dramatic way in which Paul repeatedly emphasizes and develops the 
idea of imitation in this letter (1^, 2^^; cf. II Thess. 3"'^) strongly sug- 
gests that they had also declared their determination to imitate Paul 
in bearing the troubles that were overtaking them. Such loyal state- 
ments fully explain the note of thanksgiving and mutual confidence 
that runs through Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians and which 
beyond reasonable doubt is the earliest of his extant letters. On the 
whole, the report which Timothy brought to Paul was favorable, but 
there were some in the church at Thessaloniea who had become idle 
and intemperate (50 and had shown an inclination to go back to the 
worship of heathen gods (4^'^). Paul, therefore, wrote to strengthen 
those who were loyal, to warn the weak and wavering, and to emphasize 
the more important teachings which he had set before them during 
his initial work in their midst. There is every reason to believe that 
in this first epistle to the Thessalonians we have precisely the words 
which Paul would have spoken, could he have stood in person in the 
midst of his Thessalonian friends and converts. 

IV. The Contents of Paul's First Letter to the Thessalo= 
nians. The thought of this letter is remarkably clear. It is evident 
throughout that Paul is dealing with definite conditions and needs in 
the Christian community at Thessaloniea. Hearty commendation 
and thanksgiving are expressed in 1^-^". In declaring that the faith 
of the Thessalonian Christians had been reported throughout the 
world, Paul was using justifiable hyperbole. It was the Western 

129 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSAL0NL4NS 

Christian world which he clearly had in mind. In 2^^-3^^ he ardently 
professes his love for them and his eagerness to revisit them and ex- 
plains why it was impossible for him to do so. In the remainder of the 
letter (4^"^^) j^^ stresses certain of his eai-lier teachings, the impor- 
tance of which he more fully appreciates in the light of the information 
which has come to him. As occasionally elsewhere in his letters, he 
speaks on the basis of the direct authority of Jesus (4^). It is sig- 
nificant that where Paul stands most squarely on Jesus' teachings the 
social note is strongest. Chapter 4^"^^ is an important supplement to 
our gospel records, for it ranks in date and authority with the early 
collection of the teachings of Jesus attributed by tradition to the Apostle 
Matthew. The teachings here present the lofty standard of social 
morality that Jesus held up before his followers. It does not teach 
asceticism but absolute fidelity to the marriage relation. It demands 
still more: the marriage bond was not to be made an excuse for grati- 
fying the sensual passion, but each man is enjoined to treat his wife 
purely and honorably as a divine creation. This passage is a luminous 
reflection of Jesus' chivalrous attitude toward the weaker and more 
dependent members of society and especially toward women. The 
ideal here set forth is as important and certainly as valid to-day as 
when Paul contrasted Jesus' standard with the gross and brutal sen- 
suality of the contemporary heathen world. Paul also emphasizes 
Jesus' law of brotherly love and each man's obligation quietly to at- 
tend to his own business as his first and fundamental contribution to 
the welfare of society. 

Paul then discusses in 4^^-5^^ the much-debated question of what 
would become of those who died before Jesus' second coming and how 
soon that appearing would be. In 4^^ he quotes Jesus as the authority 
for the statement that, **we, the living, who survive until the Lord 
comes are by no means to take precedence of those who are fallen 
asleep." Nowhere in the gospels do we find the exact basis of this 
statement. Possibly Paul had in mind Jesus' declaration that "he 
who loses his life for my sake and the gospel's shall find it" (Mark 8^^), 
or perhaps the allusion may be to Jesus' mild rebuke of James and John, 
who asked to have the first place in the coming kingdom. In his 
general teaching regarding Jesus' second coming, Paul clearly reflects 
his Jewish inheritance and reiterates the current apocalyptic hopes 
which are found in the contemporary writings of the Sibylline Oracles, 
the apocalypses of Enoch, Baruch, and IV Ezra. In his two letters 
to the Thessalonians, Paul's expression of his belief in Jesus' second 

130 



THE CONTENTS OF I THESSALONIANS 

coming reaches its climax — in fact, II Thessalonians marks the begin- 
ning of its subsidence. When a decade later Paul finally faced death, 
he spoke not of Jesus' coming, but of his going to Christ (Phil. l^^). 

V. The Contents and Authenticity of II Thessalonians. 

Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians is little more than an ap- 
pendix to I Thessalonians. It has, however, all the characteristic 
divisions of a typical letter. Chapter 1 contains Paul's words of greet- 
ing and thanksgiving for the, steadfastness of the Thessalonian Chris- 
tians. In 2^-^2 he aims to correct certain misunderstandings regarding 
his teaching about the second coming of Christ. In 2^^"^^ he expresses 
his strong confidence in the Thessalonians. Chapter 3^"^^ consists of 
concluding exhortations, and 3^^'^^ contains his blessing, personal 
autograph, and farewell. Throughout this second letter he repeats 
and emphasizes the same points as in the first. The parallelism is 
so close that many scholars have regarded II Thessalonians as the 
work of another hand. The mark of Paul's style and thought are, 
however, indelibly stamped upon it. While it deals with the same 
conditions that are reflected in I Thessalonians, it nevertheless marks 
progress. In I Thessalonians Paul had poured oil on the fiercely burn- 
ing expectation of Jesus' speedy coming. Now he aims to hold in check 
that over-ardent hope. In so doing he voices certain popular beliefs 
which clearly antedate the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d. It 
is, therefore, far easier to hold that they came from the lips of Paul 
than from the pen of a later editor. Paul probably wrote his second 
letter to the Thessalonians only a few months after the first. In- 
timations had evidently come to him that his first letter had been in 
part misinterpreted and he therefore wrote in haste in order to correct 
the false inferences which had been drawn from it. 

VI. Paul's Aim in II Thessalonians. A recent writer (Har- 
nack) has suggested that in this second letter Paul had especially in 
mind the Jewish Christians in Thessalonica. They, rather than the 
Gentile Christians, would naturally be most interested in the apoca- 
lyptic hopes which in their origin were distinctly Jewish rather than 
Greek. Possibly they had intimated that in his first letter Paul had 
reflected only a part of the current hopes which gathered about the 
doctrine of Jesus' second coming. In his second letter he adds what 
was a constant factor in Jewish eschatology. It is the allusion to the 
arch-enemy of God, the Anti-Christ, whose activity it was believed 
would reach its climax before the appearance of the Christ to over- 
throw this foe and to establish his visible kingdom on earth. In Paul's 

131 



PAUL'S LETTERS TO THE THESSALONIANS 

mind the one who still held in restraint the secret forces of lawless- 
ness was evidently Rome. It has even been suggested that here is a 
play on the name of the then reigning emperor, Claudius. Evidently 
Rome had not yet assumed in the minds of the Christians its later 
role of the Anti-Christ. Nowhere is Paul's good sense as a pastor 
and leader better illustrated than in this second epistle to the Thes- 
salonians. Like every progressive Jew, he still held, as firmly as, for 
example, we to-day hold the theory of evolution, that the Messiah's 
work would not be complete until he established a visible kingdom on 
earth. It is through these letters of Paul, as well as through the in- 
fluence of the books of Daniel and Revelation, that the old, popular 
Jewish apocalyptic hopes gained such a firm hold on Christianity that 
they constantly crop out to-day, not only in the cults of the Millerites 
and Second Adventists, but even in the earnest exhortations of cer- 
tain of our most popular evangelists. In the face, however, of all his 
Jewish inheritance and firm beliefs, Paul strove in his second letter 
to the Thessalonians to counteract the evil effects of this hope, which, 
we see, was a mistaken one, and to deliver the church from the perils 
which threatened it. In the first place, he called their attention to 
the fact that the present situation did not supply all the conditions 
which were popularly supposed to precede the advent of the Messiah. 
In the second place, he held up before them his own example and teach- 
ing, how he toiled hard at his trade, working night and day, even 
though he shared with them the hope of Jesus' early reappearance. 
Finally, he enunciated a great and far-reaching economic law: ''If a 
man will not work, he shall not eat." This is the heart of Paul's 
social philosophy, and it is one of his great contributions to the science 
of society. It is even more striking, because it was set forth at a 
moment when he expected even in his own lifetime to behold the end 
of the present social order. Time and deeper knowledge have demon- 
strated the futility of the old Jewish apocalyptic hopes, the practical 
evils of which Paul himself appreciated, but the great social and 
economic principle which he laid down abides awaiting full acceptance 
and application. 

§CLVI. PAUL'S WORK AT ATHENS AND CORINTH 

While Paul was waiting at Athens for Silas and Tim- 
othy, his spirit was stirred within him as he beheld the 
idols that fOled the city. So he argued in the synagogue 

132 



PAUL'S DISCUSSIONS WITH THE ATHENIANS 

with the Jews and the devout proseljrtes and also in the Pauls 
market place daily with those whom he happened to meet cS- 
there. Some of tiie Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also ^^ 
came across him and certain of them said, What has this the 
worthless picker-up of scraps of learning to say ? Others and^ 
said, He seems to be a herald of foreign deities. This f^^^ 
was because he preached Jesus and the resurrection. 1716-21) 
Then taking him up to the Areopagus they said, May we 
know what this new teaching of yours is ? For certain 
things that you are saying sound strange to us; therefore, 
we want to know what they mean. (For all the Athenians 
and the foreign visitors to Athens spent their time at noth- 
ing else than telling or hearing about something new.) 

So Paul standing in the midst of the Areopagus said, Paids 
Men of Athens, I observe that in every respect you are ?S1Se 
most reUgious. For as I passed along and saw the objects ^ff^^ 
which you worship, I even foimd an altar with the in- Areop- 
scription, ^) 

TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. 

Now I proclaim to you that which you worship in your 
ignorance. The God who made the world and all things 
in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, doth not dwell 
in shrines made by human hands. He is not served by 
human hands, as if he needed anything, for he it is who 
giveth life and breath and all things to all men. He hath 
created all nations from a common ancestor that they may 
inhabit all the surface of the earth. He hath also fixed for 
them their allotted periods and the boimdaries of their 
abodes that they may seek for God on the chance of finding 
him in their groping for him, although he is not far from 
each one of us ; for it is in him that we live and move and 
exist, as certain of your own poets have said. For we also 
are his offspring. Therefore, as the offspring of God, we 
ought not to imagine that the divine nature resembles 
gold or silver or stone, the product of human art and in- 
vention. These ages of ignorance God overlooked, but he 
now commandeth men that they are all everywhere to re- 
pent, since he hath fixed a day on which he will judge the 
world justly by a man whom he hath destined for this. 

133 



PAUL'S WORK AT ATHENS 

And he hath given proof of this to all by raising him from 
the dead. 
Its But when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, 

(K)* some sneered, while others said. We will hear you again 
on this matter. So Paul withdrew from their midst. Cer- 
tain^ men, however, joined him and believed, among whom 
were Dionysius, the Areopagite, a woman called Damaris, 
and some others with them. 
Paul's After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There 
S^laV he fotmd a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who 
P^J^- had recently come from Italy with his wife, Priscilla, for 
(181-6) Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul 
visited them and, as he was of the same trade, he remained 
with them and they all worked together, for by trade they 
were tent-makers. On every sabbath he argued in the 
synagogue and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks. 
By the time that Silas and Timothy came down from Mace- 
donia, Paul was engrossed in preaching the word, testify- 
ing to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But as they 
opposed and abused him, he shook out his garments in 
protest, saying, Your blood be on your own heads! I am 
not responsible ; after this I will go to the Gentiles. 
Pauls Then Paul went to the house of a devout proselyte called 
ft?^itt Titus Justus, which adjoined the synagogue. But Crispus, 
Pj^- the president of the S3magogue, believed in the Lord, to- 
(T-io) gether with all his household; and many of the Corin- 
thians hearing, believed and were baptized. And the 
Lord said to Paul in a vision at night, Have no fear, speak 
on and do not stop, for I am with you and no one will attack 
you to injure you; I have many people in this city. So Paul 
settled there a year and six months, teaching among them 
the word of God. 
Paul's But when Gallio became proconsul of Achaia, the Jews 
fe^e with one accord rose against Paul and brought him before 
GauS *^® tribunal saying. This man is inducing people to wor- 
(u-isa) ship God contrary to the law. But when Paul was about 
to begin his defense, Gallio said to the Jews, If it had 
been a misdemeanor or wicked crime, I might reasonably 
listen to you, O Jews; but as these are merely questions of 
words and names and your law, you yourselves can attend 

134 



PAUL'S DEFENSE BEFORE GALLIO 

to them. I do not wish to pass judgment upon such mat- 
ters. So he drove them from the tribunal. Then all the 
Greeks, seizing Sosthenes, the president of the synagogue, 
heat him before the tribunal; but Gallio did not take the 
least notice of these things. Then after waiting for a 
number of days, Paul took leave of the brothers and sailed 
for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. 

I. The Athens of Paul's Day. Finding the door of Macedonia 
temporarily closed to him, Paul naturally turned to the original home 
of Greek culture. The goal of his journey from Beroea was evidently 
the great commercial city of Corinth, but Athens, like a loadstone, at- 
tracted him irresistibly. Curiosity and his natural itinerary, rather 
than missionary zeal, apparently carried him thither. Although 
stripped of all political power and much of its intellectual prestige, 
Athens still stood at the height of its material splendor. It contained 
much that must have been of keenest interest to Paul. During his 
sojourn of several days he probably found his way to the great Stadium, 
on the hills at the east of the city, which had only recently been com- 
pleted. Here were held the Panatheniac games — a type of sport with 
which Paul was well acquainted and in which he probably was keenly 
interested. In the centre of Athens arose the stately Acropolis, 
crowned by the Parthenon, the chief glory of Athenian art and the 
home of Pallas Athena, the goddess of wisdom. About it were grouped 
the marvellous temples and public buildings which made Athens ar- 
chitecturally the most beautiful city in the ancient world. Paul's 
attention was probably arrested by the massive temple of Olympian 
Zeus, standing southeast of the Acropolis, which had been reared by 
Antiochus Epiphanes, the arch-persecutor of Judaism. Below the 
Acropolis on the southwest was the Agora, the centre of Athens's com- 
mercial and intellectual life. On the west was the Royal Porch in which 
the court of the Areopagus at this period usually held its sessions. 
On the south was the Senate house, the Hall of Zeus, and the Stoa 
Pcecile. Immediately to the west of the Agora was the Areopagus, or 
Hill of Mars, originally separated from the Acropolis by a deep, narrow 
chasm. 

II. Paul's Attitude Toward the Intellectual and Religious 
Life of Athens. In the cosmopolitan university atmosphere of 
Athens the Jew from the university town of Tarsus found himself in 
part at least at home. He apparently spent most of his time in the 

135 



PAUL'S WORK AT ATHENS 

Agora. Its intense business and intellectual activity fascinated this 
cosmopolitan city dweller. In the Stoa Poecile, Zeno, the founder of 
the Stoic philosophy, had lived and taught about three centuries earlier. 
It was still the favorite place where the Stoic philosophers met their 
disciples and from whence their influence radiated to distant Tarsus 
and dominated the intellectual life of that great commercial city. 
Here also Cleanthes, the illustrious pupil of Zeno, had sung his im- 
mortal hymn to Zeus, from which Paul quotes in his famous address 
to the men of Athens: 

O God, most glorious, called by many a name. 

Nature's great King, through endless years the same; 

Omnipotence, who by thy just decree 

Controllest all, hail Zeus, for unto thee 

Behooves thy creatures in all lands to call. 

We are thy children, we alone, of all 

On earth's broad ways that wander to and fro, 

Bearing thy image wheresoe'er we go. 

Therefore with songs of praise thy power I will forth show. 

Three centuries earlier also in this same city Epicurus had lived for 
a considerable period and founded the philosophy which bore his name. 
The most prominent among the lecturers and students from all parts 
of the Roman Empire who thronged the Agora were the followers of 
Zeno and Epicurus. Paul in the midst of this throng appears to have 
arrested attention both by his appearance and by his actions. In 
the university slang of the day he was soon contemptuously character- 
ized as "a worthless picker-up of scraps of learning." In this in- 
tellectual life of Athens Paul found much which he could approve. 
In its strong emphasis on the moral life and in its growing belief in 
one supreme God back of all phenomena, which Cleanthes so nobly 
voices in his hymn to Zeus, he found many points of contact. The 
deeply religious spirit of the city also impressed him. The Roman 
writer Petronius says sarcastically that it was easier to find a god in 
Athens than a man ! Pausanias a century later said there were more 
gods in Athens than in all the rest of the country. Recent excava- 
tions have disclosed a broken altar which apparently bore the in- 
scription: 

"To the Unknown Gods 

Capiton 

Torchcarrier." 

136 



PAUL'S ATTITUDE TOWARD ATHENIAN CULTURE 

The beauty of the Athenian temples and the peerless statues may have 
appealed to Paul, for his repeated use of building figures reveals a 
certain interest, but what impressed him most and at the same time 
irritated him was this evidence on every side of the idolatry regnant 
in this most cultured city. Luke's Macedonian point of view is evinced 
in his general criticism in Acts 18^^ and yet it was on the whole true 
of the life of the city at the period when Paul visited it: "For all the 
Athenians and the foreign visitors to Athens occupied themselves with 
nothing else than with repeating and listening to the latest novelty/* 
Apparently the common people, as well as the foreign students that 
thronged the city, were confirmed lecture tasters but lacked the depth 
of conviction and emotion necessary for fundamental transformations 
in character and life. The attitude of the Athenian university crowd 
toward Paul seems to have been thoroughly contemptuous. Here 
was a voluble Jew who promised them certain entertainment — a re- 
ligious sensation. Although Socrates had been condemned to death 
by the court of the Areopagus on the charge of introducing the wor- 
ship of new gods, the Athenians had since the days of Socrates out- 
grown their intolerance and prided themselves instead on welcoming 
teachers of all religions. It is probable, however, that the court of 
the Areopagus, the duties of which in earlier days appear to have been 
the regulation of morals and education, still exercised a certain super- 
vision over the lecturers who were allowed to present their teachings 
in the Agora. The evidence is clear that Paul was not placed on trial 
under a definite charge but that rather he was given an opportunity 
to present his new teachings in order that the members of the court 
might determine whether he should be permitted to continue to teach 
in their midst. 

III. Paul's Address to the Athenian Crowd. The scene of 
Paul's memorable address, as reported in Acts 17, was evidently the 
Agora, and very probably in or near the Royal Porch, where the 
court of the Areopagus held its sessions. Paul's introductory words, 
as well as the contents of his address, indicate that his audience con- 
sisted not merely of philosophers and members of the court but also 
included the Athenian mob, the "worthless pickers-up of scraps of 
learning," whose decisions, like that of every Oriental mob, carried 
weight with the ruling authorities. To them, as the more hopeful 
elements in his audience, Paul seems to have primarily addressed 
his speech. As Professor Ramsay has said {St. Paul, p. 150): "There 
is nothing in the reported words of Paul at Lystra and Athens (with 

137 



PAUL'S WORK AT ATHENS 

a possible exception of 'the man whom he hath ordained') that several 
Greek philosophers might not have said." With marvellous skill he 
adjusted himself to his environment and established a common point 
of contact between himself and his hearers. In many respects the 
principle contained in his address as here reported was the same as 
is found in his letter to the Romans in l^^-^^. The passage from the 
hymn of the Stoic poet Cleanthes, to which Paul alludes, was one of 
the noblest expressions of the growing belief among the Greek philos- 
ophers that one supreme personality was back of the phenomena of 
nature and therefore the ultimate object of all worship. Equally 
significant is the similar hymn to Zeus that comes from Aratus, the 
poet of Soli, in Cilicia, Paul's native province, whom the apostle possi- 
bly also had in mind: 

Zeus fills all the city streets 
Of the nation's crowded marts; fills the watery deeps 
And heavens. Every laborer needs the help of Zeus. 
His children are we. He, benignant, 
Raises high signals, summoning man to toil, 
And warning him of life's demands. 

Here, as at Thessalonica, Paul's aim was to turn the Gentiles from 
the worship of idols to the one living God. In his broad attitude to- 
ward the Gentile world and in his declaration that the earlier ages of 
ignorance God overlooked, Paul reveals the influence of the Jewish 
Stoic who has given us the Wisdom of Solomon, which reads in 11^: 
"Thou overlookest the sins of men to the end that they may repent." 
Paul's Athenian audience followed him until he began to set forth the 
Jewish doctrine of a final judgment-day and to tell of the resurrection 
of him whom God had destined to sit on the seat of judgment. True 
to their well-known characteristics, the Athenian audience was divided 
in its judgment; but contempt or general indifference prevailed. Paul's 
immediate departure from the city also suggests strongly that the court 
of the Areopagus, if it passed formal judgment upon his address, refused 
him the rights of the Agora. The author of Acts, although elsewhere 
inclined to magnify the results of the work of the early apostles, is 
evidently here faithful to his data, for he emphasizes simply the few- 
ness of those who responded to Paul's preaching. Paul himself speaks 
later of Stephanas of Corinth as the first-fruits of Achaia (I Cor. 16^^), 
implying that he regarded his earlier work in Athens as practically fruit- 
less. This outcome of his brief sojourn at the historic centre of Greek 

138 



PAUL'S ADDRESS TO THE ATHENIANS 

culture is not so much a demonstration of Paul's limitations as a reve- 
lation of the character of the class to which he spoke. 

IV. Paul's Skill as an Orator. It is not probable that the 
author of Acts has preserved a verbatim report of Paul's addresses; 
but he has given us an exceedingly vivid impression of the consum- 
mate skill, as well as devotion, which made Paul the great apostle to 
the Greek world. In appealing to his Gentile audiences he was handi- 
capped by the strong prejudices then felt toward his race, by his 
rather unattractive personal appearance, by his involved literary 
style, by his rabbinical methods of thought, and, above all, by the 
fact that in his appeal he spoke more to the heart than to the mind. 
Notwithstanding these seemingly impossible handicaps, he reached 
and won|many of the most thoughtful and cultured men of his age 
by his words and by his personality. He was like a rushing moim- 
tain torrent that carried all before it. The source of his irresistible 
strength was his absolute conviction of the truth of what he spoke 
and of his divinely given authority to proclaim it. Apparently, never 
for a moment did he question his call or the certainty of his con- 
victions. To this assurance was added an intense earnestness, ac- 
centuated doubtless by his belief that the end of the present order 
was at hand. Like the old Hebrew prophets, he was ever dominated 
by an overwhelming sense of responsibility and a passionate desire 
to save men from the appalling calamity which he felt to be imminent. 
While on the one side he shared the Jewish apocalyptic expectations, 
he felt the deep craving of the Gentile world for personal salvation 
and for the consciousness of fellowship and friendship with the In- 
finite. Hence, his words appeal to universal human needs. He was 
keen to appreciate these needs but he was equally skilful in adapting 
his message to his audiences. He had the rare art of ''being all things 
to all men." He was also conscious of this art and deliberately exer- 
cised it: "To the Jews I become like a Jew, in order to win Jews. 
To those outside the law, I become as one outside of the law, in order 
that I may win those outside of the law. To the weak I become as 
one weak myself, in order to win over the weak." He met the pagan 
peasants of Lystra and the cultiwed students of Athens on the common 
ground of universal religion. Having established a close point of con- 
tact, he led them on tactfully to the appreciation and acceptance of 
his own point of view. To the Jews he appealed on the basis of the 
promises contained in their ancient scriptures. To use his own figure, 
he never planted his blows as one who beats the air. To his earnest 

139 



PAUL'S WORK AT ATHENS 

and consummate tact he added a profound sympathy for those whom 
he sought to reach. His method, like that of Jesus, was not negative 
and destructive, but prevailingly positive and constructive. His aim 
was not merely to interest and convince men, but to save them. The 
motive power in Paul, the orator, therefore, was not mere logic, but 
love for men and loyalty to the Master whom he served. Back of his 
words was his heroic personality. He spoke from personal experience, 
directly out of his own heart to the hearts of men. To these strong 
qualifications were added a wide and varied knowledge of the world 
and of human nature, a bold originality and unusual ability in using 
apt and popular figures of speech and illustrations. These he drew 
from the life of the merchant, the farmer, the traveller, the sailor, and 
even the athlete. Colloquial phrases, current in the agora, the forum, 
and the temple, were constantly on his lips, for Paul was supremely 
skilful in interpreting the Gospel into the every-day hfe and thought 
of the exceedingly varied audiences to which he spoke. 

V. Paul's Problems and Methods at Corinth. The great 
metropolis of Corinth lay on the "Bridge of the Sea," the isthmus 
which separated the Corinthian from the Saronic Gulf. This narrow 
neck of land cut straight across the shortest natiu'al highway from 
Rome to Ephesus and the East. Every cargo sent on this route 
must here be transshipped. Hence it was one of the most important 
commercial centres in the Roman world. The city was built on a 
broad natural terrace above which its acropolis rose to a height of 
about eighteen hundred feet above the sea-level. Corinth had been a 
Roman colony since the days of Julius Caesar. To it had gravitated 
the most varied population. It was opulent, cosmopolitan, corrupt, 
and profligate. Into it had poured, not only the gold and the ideas, 
but the vices of the East and West. Strategically, it was of the great- 
est importance, for ideas implanted here would readily spread through 
the Roman world. Corinth was a city well calculated to appeal 
powerfully to the sympathies, to the heroic daring, and to the broad 
statesmanship of Paul. Fortune, or rather seeming misfortune, drove 
him here. Hunted from Philippi, Thessalonica, and Bercea, baffled at 
Athens, anxious, harassed by poverty and weakened by sickness, Paul 
about 50 A.D. entered upon his work in this capital and metropolis 
of Achaia. For about a year and a half he lived and worked here. To 
support himself he took up his occupation as a tent-maker. His 
earliest friends and fellow workmen were Aquila and his wife, Prisca, 
or, as she is better known by the diminutive form of her name, Pris- 

140 



PAUL'S PROBLEMS AT CORINTH 

cilia. They were natives of Pontus, but had lived in Rome until they 
had recently been expelled by the edict of Claudius, which is dated by 
Orosius in 49 B.C. Suetonius declares that this expulsion of the Jews 
was due to a certain riot led by one Chrestus. Apparently this is a 
popular corruption of the name Christ, and the remark of Suetonius 
suggests that at this early date the Christians already formed a strong 
community in the capital city. The fact that Paul early made his 
home with Priscilla and Aquila and that he never includes them 
among his converts indicates that they were Christians before they 
found refuge in Corinth. Paul's intimate relations with them un- 
doubtedly put him in close touch with conditions in Rome and must 
have contributed to his growing desire to visit the imperial city. Fol- 
lowing his usual custom, Paul first sought through the Jewish syna- 
gogue to gain a public hearing. Silas and Timothy aided him in his 
work, but soon they experienced the usual reaction. A majority of 
the Jews rejected Paul's claim that Jesus was the Messiah; but at 
least one devout proselyte, and probably several, opened their hearts 
and their homes to Paul's message. With his usual persistence and 
boldness, Paul chose the house of Titus Justus, which adjoined the syna- 
gogue, as the new centre of his work. Crispus, a high official in the 
synagogue, accepted Paul's teachings and his example exerted a strong 
influence on all classes in Corinth. So successful was Paul's work that 
it aroused the usual persecution, especially on the part of the Jews. 
In their blind rage they dragged Paul before the Roman proconsul, 
Gallio, a brother of the famous Stoic philosopher Seneca. Recogniz- 
ing that the case was simply a quarrel between the partisans of dif- 
ferent religious sects the proconsul summarily dismissed the case and 
drove them from the tribunal. It is not entirely clear whether it was 
hatred of the Jews or interest in Paul and his teachings which led the 
mob to seize Sosthenes, the president of the Jewish synagogue, and 
beat him. Their action certainly did not reflect the spirit of Paul's 
teachings. It is possible, however, that this was the same Sosthenes 
to whom Paul refers later as a devoted convert. In his correspondence 
with the Corinthians Paul tells us that at Corinth he abandoned all 
philosophical discussions and terminology and devoted himself solely 
to proclaiming in simplest terms the Gospel of the cross. 

VI. The Results of Paul's Work in Corinth. The eighteen 
months spent at Corinth were among the most critical and fruitful 
in Paul's ministry. The transformation of the ignorant and corrupt 
Greeks of this voluptuous city into worthy Christians was the great- 

141 



PAUL'S WORK AT CORINTH 

est miracle in Paul's ministry, if not in the early history of Christian- 
ity. Here he was battling with the most seductive and brazen form 
of immorality which, under the guise of the old pagan religions, had 
permeated the whole life of Corinth. To this deep-seated immorality 
was added the gross materialism of a strongly commercial city and 
the fickleness which has always been a characteristic of the Greek 
race. In the face of all these odds Paul established a strong Chris- 
tian church at Corinth. The so-called First Epistle of Clement, which 
was written near the close of the first Christian century by the Church 
of Rome to the Corinthian Christians, speaks of their name as vener- 
able and famous and worthy of all men's love. Elsewhere in the same 
epistle is found this high commendation: "Who ever dwelt even for 
a short time among you, and did not find your faith to be as fruitful 
of virtue as it was firmly established? Who did not admire the 
sobriety and moderation of your godliness in Christ and who did not 
rejoice over your perfect and well-rounded knowledge?" It is from 
Corinth also that Paul sent his letters to the Macedonian churches 
and, through the frequent visits of his assistants, strengthened and 
confirmed them in the Christian faith. Here also he met the attack 
of the narrow Judaizers who sought to undermine his work in Galatia 
and even found their way to Corinth itself. Paul's ministry at Cor- 
inth appears to have been one long battle, and the battle by no means 
ceased when he went on to Ephesus; but in the end he won a victory 
which marked a great and signal advance in Christianity's conquest 
of the Roman world. 

§CLVn. PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE 
CORINTHIAN CHURCH 

The Paul called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus through 

Icrip-" the will of God, with brother Sosthenes, to the church of 
PaSi^ God at Corinth, to those who are consecrated in Christ 
second Jesus, Called to be saints, as well as to all who in every 
(f (Sr. place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord 
*'■') as well as ours : grace and peace to you from God our Father 

and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
His I thank my God continually in your behalf for the divine 

f^°^ grace which has been bestowed on you in Jesus Christ, in 
thanks- §iat through him you have been so richly blessed with all 
0^^ power of speech and with all knowledge. Thus in you 

the testimony which we bore to Christ has been confirmed. 

142 



PAUL'S APPEAL TO DROP PARTY STRIFE 

Brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I beg of Appeal 
you that you all speak in harmony. There must be no %ny^ 
divisions among you, but rather you must be united with ^f^^^s 
the same mind and by the same point of view. For I have 
been informed regarding you, brothers, by Chloe's people, 
that there are dissensions among you. What I mean is 
this: each of you is saying, *I belong to Paul,' and *I to 
ApoUos,' and *I to Cephas' [Peter], and *I to Christ.' Is 
Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or was it in 
Paul's name that you were baptized? I am thankful that 
I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gains, so that 
no man can say that you were baptized in my name. Yes, 
I did baptize the household of Stephanus, but I baptized 
no one else as far as I know. For Christ sent me not to 
baptize, but to preach the gospel. 

For when the world with its wisdom failed to know God The 
in his wisdom, God was pleased, through the fooUshness ^£^® 
of the message which we proclaim, to save those who be- ^£1^°^ 
lieve. The Jews demand miracles and the Greeks seek ctoss 
wisdom. We, however, proclaim Christ, the crucified, a ^^^'^^ 
stumbling block to the Jews, mere foolishness to the Gen- 
tiles, but to those who are called, whether Jews or Greeks, 
a Christ who is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 
For the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the 
weakness of God is stronger than men. 

For, brothers, look at those of your number whom God iiitis- 
hath called: not many wise according to htunan judgment, £^^e 
not many mighty, not many of noble birth have been called. §g^" 
Rather, God hath chosen the foolish things of the world, to church 

/'26 29\ 

put to shame the wise ; God hath chosen the weak things in ^ ^ 
the world, to put to shame the strong; God hath chosen the 
base and despised things of the earth — things which are 
not — to bring to naught the things which are, that no 
mortal man may boast in the presence of God. 

And so when I came to you, my brothers, I came not to Pavd's 
proclaim to you with excellency of speech or wisdom the cot-** 
mystery of God. Rather I determined while among you to ^th 
know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified. It was 
in weakness and in fear and with much trembling that I 
came to you. My language and my message did not de- 

143 



PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS 

pend on persuasive words of wisdom, but on the demon- 
stration of the Spirit and of its power, that your faith might 
not rest on any wisdom of men but on the power of God. 
The Who among men knows a man's thoughts, except the 

of^e spirit of the man within him? So too, no one knows the 
Sr thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. But we have 
wis- not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which 
(u-^) comes from God, that we may know the blessings which 
come from God. And of these things we speak, not in 
language .taught by hiunan wisdom, but taught by the 
Spirit, interpreting spiritual things in spiritual terms. The 
imspiritual man does not receive the truths of the Spirit 
of God, for they are folly to him and he cannot know them, 
since they must be spiritually appreciated. The spiritual 
man, on the contrary, can appreciate all things, although 
he himself is appreciated by no one. For who has known 
the mind of the Lord, so as to instruct him? But we have 
the mind of Christ. 
The But I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as spirit- 

See ual persons. I had to speak to you as worldlings, as babes 
iL^ot ^ Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you 
spirit- were not strong enough, and you are not even strong enough 
^ht^" now; you are still worldly. For with jealousy and quarrel- 
tS^^^ ing in your midst, are you not worldly? Are you not act- 
COTn- ing like ordinary men? For whenever any one says, *I 
(sJ^vJ^ belong to PauP and *I to ApoUos,' are you not like ordinary 
men? Who then is Apollos? Who is Paul? They are 
simply servants through whom, as to each the Lord gave 
power, you learned to believe. I planted and Apollos 
watered, but God made the seed grow. So neither the 
planter nor the waterer is important, but God who maketh 
the seed grow. 
Re- We are fellow workers with God. You are God's field, 

bm?y^' God's building. According to the grace of God which was 
teacher siven me as the wise master-builder, I laid the foundation; 
(»-^f) ^^ but another builds on this foundation. Let each be careful 
how he builds, for no one can lay any other foundation than 
that which is laid, namely, Jesus Christ. 

Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's 
Spirit dwells within you? If anyone destroys God*s tem- 

144 



OBLIGATIONS OF THE CORINTHIANS 

pie, God will destroy that one, for God*s temple is sacred, obiiga- 
and that is what you are. Therefore, let no one boast of'the 
about men. For all things are yours : Paul, Apollos, Cephas, go^- 
the world, life, death, the present, and the future — all are (i^.^^ 
yours and you are Christ's and Christ is God's. ''''^ 

You are satisfied already, are you? You are rich al- Paul's 
ready! You reign without us! Would, indeed, that we ^^^ 
might reign with you! For I think God hath set forth us of the 
apostles last of all, as men doomed to death ! We are made tiS^ 
as spectacles to the world, to angels, and to men. For ^"^^""^ 
Christ's sake we are fools, but you are wise in Christ! We 
are weak but you are strong! You are honored, we are 
dishonored! To this very hour we hunger and thirst, we 
are scantily clad and knocked about. We are homeless. 
Wearily we toil with our own hands. When reviled, we 
bless. When persecuted, we put up with it. When 
slandered, v/e try to conciliate. We have come to be re- 
garded as the scum of the earth, the refuse of the uni- 
verse, even until now. 

I am not writing this to make you ashamed, but to counsel His 
you as my beloved children. For if you had ten thousand |Sde" 
instructors in Christ, you could not have many fathers. I, fjr^ 
it was, who in Christ Jesus became your father by means (h^) 
of the gospel. I beg of you, therefore, imitate me. To 
this end, I am sending you Timothy, who is my beloved 
and faithful son in the Lord. He will remind you of my 
methods in Christ Jesus by which I teach everywhere, in 
every church. Some of you have been puffed up, as if I 
were not coming to you. Indeed, I will come to you 
quickly, if the Lord willeth, and then I will learn from those 
who are puffed up, not what they say, but what power they 
have. For the Kingdom of God is not a thing of words 
but of power. What do you wish? Shall I come to you 
with the rod, or with a loving and gentle spirit? 

It is actually reported that there is immorality among His 
you, immorality such as is not even practised among the §emna- 
Gentiles — that a man has taken his father's wife ! And yet gon of 
you are puffed up! You should rather mourn, in order gSnt 
that the perpetrator of such a crime might be expelled from JSi^" 
your midst. I, indeed, though absent in the body, but (5^-*») 

145 



PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS 

present in spirit,fhave already come to a decision as though 
present, namely, that by the power of our Lord Jesus, when 
you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my 
spirit is with you, that individual be delivered over to Satan 
for the destruction of his flesh in order that his spirit may 
'be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus. 

I wrote you in my letter that you were not to associate 
with the immoral, not that in this world you are to keep 
entirely aloof from the immoral or the avaricious or the 
thievish or from idolaters, since in that case you would have 
to leave the world altogether. What I now write is, that 
you are not to associate with any so-called brother who is 
immoral or avaricious or idolatrous or given to abusive 
language or hard drinking or robbery. With such you ought 
not even to eat. For what business have I to judge out- 
siders? Is it not for you to judge those who are wittiin the 
church? God will judge outsiders. Remove the wicked 
from among you. 

If Christ is preached as having risen from the dead, how 

vaSing is it that some of you say that there is no resurrection of 
the dead. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then 
Christ did not rise; and if Christ did not rise, then our 
preaching has been in vain and your faith also is vain. We 
also are detected bearing false witness about God, because 
we have testified concerning God that he raised Christ, 
whom he did not raise, if ^ter all the dead do not rise. 
For if the dead do not rise, Christ did not rise ; and if Christ 
did not rise, your faith is futile ; you are still in your sins. 
Furthermore, those who sleep in Christ have perished. 
If we have only a hope of Christ in this life, we are, of all 
men, the most to be pitied. 

Christ's But Christ in reaUty did rise from the dead. He was 
the first to be gathered of those who sleep; for since death 
came through man, by man also came the resurrection of 
the dead. Just as all die in Adam, so shall all be made 
alive in Christ. But each in his own order ; Christ, the first 
to be gathered, then all who belong to Christ at his arrival. 
Then comes the end, when he is to surrender the kingship 
to God, the Father, when he has put down all other author- 
ity, rule and power, for he must reign imtil he has placed 

146 



CHRIST'S RESURRECTION 

all of his foes under his feet. Death is the last enemy to 
be overthrown, for God hath put everything under his feet. 
When it is said that everything has been put under him, it 
plainly excludes him who putteth everything under him. 
And when all things are put imder him, then, the son him- 
self win be put under him who subjected everjrthing to him, 
that God may be all in all. 

But some one will say, how can the dead rise? With The 
what kind of body do they come back? FooHsh man! of^e 
What you yourself sow does not come to life tmless it dies ; ^g^jjj 
and what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a mere (^^-^s. «- 
grain of wheat it may be, or some other seed. God giveth "' "^ 
it a body as he pleaseth, even to each kind of seed a body 
of its own. So it is with the resurrection of the dead: it 
is sown corruptible, it rises incorruptible; it is sown in- 
glorious, it rises in glory; it is sown in weakness, it rises 
in power; it is sown an animate body, it rises a spiritual 
body. Thus, as we have borne the Ukeness of the earthly 
man, so we are to bear the likeness of the heavenly 
man. 

This I tell you, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit The 
the Kingdom of God, nor can the corruptible inherit incor- ^^e?^^ 
ruption. Behold I tell you a mystery: we shall not all ^^^^ 
sleep, but we shaU all be changed in a moment, in the Christ 
twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet call. For the trum- ^*°""^ 
pet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 
and we shall be changed. For this corruptible body must 
be clothed with incorruption and this mortal body clothed 
with immortality. But when this corruptible body has been 
clothed with incorruption, and this mortal body clothed with 
immortality, then the words of the scripture will be ful- 
filled: 

Death is swallowed up in victory. 
O Death, where is your victory? 
O Death, where is your sting? 

Thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our 
Lord Jesus Christ! Therefore, my beloved brothers, be 
firm, immovable, excel at all times in the work of the Lord, 
knowing that your work in the Lord is never in vain.] 

147 



(6-7, 10 
12) 



PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS 

The With regard to the collection for the saints, you must do 

t&n^or just as I directed the churches in Galatia. On the first 

p^r in ^^y ^^ *^® week, let each of you put aside whatever gain 

Jeru- has been granted him, so that the money will not have to 

(16^1^) be collected when I come. When I am with you I will send 

credentials to those whom you select, to bear your gracious 

gift to Jerusalem and, if it is worth while for me to go too, 

they w&l accompany me. 

Paul's I shall come to you after I go through Macedonia, for I 

pfaSs^ am going to pass through Macedonia. Perhaps I will spend 

some time with you, or even pass the winter, that you may 

speed me forward, wherever I am going. I do not wish to 

see you now merely in passing, for my hope is to stay some 

time among you if the Lord doth permit. If Timothy arrives, 

see that he is quite at home among you, for he is engaged 

in the Lord's work, even as I am. Therefore, let no one 

slight him, but send him on his way in peace in order that 

he may come to me, for I am awaiting him along with the 

other brothers. As for our brother, Apollos, I begged him 

most earnestly to go to you with the brothers, but it was 

not at all his wish that he should come now. He will come, 

however, when he has a good opportunity. 

Suding Watch, stand firm in the faith, be men, be strong! Let 

exhor- all that you do be done in love. 

tation 

(13, 14) 

Paul's ^» Paul, myself, entreat you by the gentleness and con- 
de- sideration of Christ — the Paul *who is humble enough to 
£^S your face, when he is with you, but outspoken enough when 
letter ^® ^^ away from you ! * I beg of you that when I do come 
(II that you will not compel me to make a bold display of my 
iQi^^) confidence with which I am determined to show my courage 
toward certain people who consider that we act in accor- 
dance with worldly principles. For though we still Uve in 
the world, we do not fight with worldly weapons. The 
weapons of our warfare are not worldly weapons, but di- 
vinely strong to overthrow fortresses, overthrowing theories 
and every stronghold raised up against the knowledge of 
God, and we take captive every project, to make it subject 
to Christ. We are ready to pass judgment upon every act 
of disobedience, when once your submission is complete. 

148 



PLEADING FOR THE LOYALTY OF THE CORINTHIANS 

I wish you could have put up with a little foolishness His 
on my part. Do bear with me, for I feel jealous for you, S^r 
even as God is jealous. I betrothed you as a chaste l^\^^ 
maiden, to present you to your one husband, Christ; but I oftiie^ 
am afraid that, even as the serpent with its craftiness be- §S3^ 
guiled Eve, so your thoughts are being seduced from a (ii'"") 
single devotion to Christ, for you bear it well when some 
one comes proclaiming another Jesus whom we have not 
proclaimed, or when you receive another Spirit than that 
which you have received, or a different gospel from that 
which you have already welcomed! For I consider myself 
not in the slightest inferior to the most eminent apostles! 
In speech, I may be defective, but not in knowledge. We 
have in every way made that fully evident to you. 

Here I am ready to visit you for the third time ; and I will pian 
not burden you, for I desire not your money, but you your- ^^ 
selves; for children are not under obligations to store up gor- 
money for their parents, but parents for their children. I 02". 
will gladly spend aU I have and be utterly spent for your "^ 
souls. Am I to be loved the less because I love you so in- 
tensely? 

I forewarned you and now warn you in advance, as I did The 
on my second visit when present and do now when absent, of iS* 
both you who sinned before and all the rest, that if I come j^l 
back again, I will spare no one, since you seek proof that 
Christ speaks through me — he who is not weak toward you 
but powerful in you. For though he was crucified in weak- 
ness, he lives by the power of God. For though we are 
weak as he was weak, yet with him we shall be alive toward 
you by the power of God. Test yourselves to see if you are 
in the faith; examine yourselves. Do you not know that 
Jesus Christ is in you or else you are failures? For this 
reason I am writing these things to you while absent, that 
when I do come I may not have to deal severely with you 
by the authority which the Lord hath given me, for the pur- 
pose of building you up and not of pulling you down. saluta- 
tion in 

Paul's 

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and &JJl^ 

brother Timothy to the Church of God at Corinth as well as di 

to all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: Grace and f^^lj 

149 



PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS 

peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

•Kianks- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
fl^ the Father of tender mercies and the God who comforteth 
us in all our afiiiction, so that we are able to comfort those 
who are in any affliction, by the comfort with which we our- 
selves are comforted by God. 
Pauls I call God to witness against my soul that it was to spare 
m?£ you that I did not revisit Corinth. I decided I would not 
foiroer come to you again to bring you pain, for if I pain you, who 
^t^^ is there then to give me joy except the very people I am 
^^^^^'^^ paining? And I write this to you in order that when I 
come, I may not receive pain from those who ought to give 
me joy, being assured regarding all of you that my joy is a 
source of joy to you all. For I wrote you in great affliction 
and misery of heart, with many a tear, not to give you pain, 
but in order that you might know how my heart is overflow- 
ing with love for you. 
For- If a certain individual has caused pain, he has caused it 

IS" not only to me, but in some degree (that I may not exagger- 
^^?® ate) to all of you. The censure from the majority is suf- 
tent ficient for that individual, so that, on the contrary, you 
fender should rather now forgive and comfort him, lest he be over- 
(»-"») whelmed by excessive grief. Therefore, I beg of you to 
reinstate him in yoiu* love. For I wrote you with the aim 
that I might know your mind, whether you were absolutely 
obedient. If you forgive the man, I will forgive him also. 
Appeal O Corinthians, our mouth is unsealed to you! Our 
JJW heart is wide open for you! There is no restraint in our 
fin^t love; yet you restrained your feelings for us; but let it be a 
7«-<) fair exchange. I speak as to my children. Open wide your 
hearts to us. Make room for us. We have wronged no 
one, ruined no one, taken no selfish advantage of anyone. 
I speak, not in order to condemn you, for I said before that 
you are our very heart, whether we die with you or live with 
you. I have great confidence in you; great is my boasting 
over you. I am filled with comfort. I am overflowing 
with delight amidst all our affliction. 
Now, brothers, we would have you know the grace of 

150 



GENEROSITY OF THE MACEDONIANS 

God, which has been given to the churches of Macedonia, The 
how while passing through a most trying ordeal, their l^f' 
boundless joy and their deep poverty have overflowed in a ^^^^ 
flood of generous liberality. I can testify, that according doSi^ 
to their means, and even beyond their means, they have ^gi^s, 
given freely; with much entreaty, they begged us for the ^l 2) 
favor of sharing in the service in behalf of the saints. They 
have also done more than we hoped, for first of all they 
gave themselves to the Lord and to us in accordance with 
the will of God. This led us to urge Titus, inasmuch as he 
had been the one who had commenced the work, also to 
complete this work of beneficence among you. Indeed it 
is superfluous for me to write to you about this service to 
the saints. For I know your willingness, on accotmt of 
which I boasted about you to the Macedonians, saying that 
Achaia was ready last year. And your zeal has spurred on 
the majority of them. 

He who fumisheth the seed for the sower and bread to The 
eat will supply you with seed and multiply it and will increase q^^- 
the fruits of your charity. You will be enriched in every ^l^}^^ 
way, so as to show all UberaUty which through us makes 
men give thanks to God. For the service rendered by 
this sacred gift, not only supplies the wants of the saints, 
but in addition causes many a cry of thanksgiving to God. 
By the practical proof of this service you cause God to be 
praised for the fidelity of your allegiance to the gospel of 
Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them 
and to all. They also with suppUcation in your behalf are 
bound to you in love because of the surpassing grace which 
God has bestowed on you. Thanks be to God for his tm- 
speakable gift! 

I. Conditions in the Church at Corinth That Called Forth 
Paul's Letters. At least a year had elapsed since Paul had con- 
cluded his initial work at Corinth. From I Corinthians 16^ we learn 
that meantime he had made a visit to the Galatian churches; already a 
strenuous period of work at Ephesus lay behind him. Apollos, the 
brilliant Alexandrian disciple of John the Baptist and later a convert 
to Christianity, had labored for a time at Ephesus, together with Aqmla 
and Priscilla, and then had gone on to Corinth to take Paul's place. 

151 



PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS 

When I Corinthians was written he had returned to Paul at Ephesus. 
Notwithstanding his Greek name, ApoUos was clearly a Jew by birth, 
learned in the scriptures of his race, and a gifted orator. Alexandria, 
Tarsus, Ephesus, and Rome were the chief centres at this period in 
which the culture and learning of the East and West mingled and found 
prominent public expression. The Jewish community at Alexandria was 
still dominated by the personality and teachings of the famous Jewish 
scholar Philo, many of whose disciples survived. Here Apollos would 
be trained equally in Greek and Jewish thought and in the allegorical 
method of interpretation which the Jews had learned from the Greeks. 
To the Greek Christians of Corinth Apollos evidently appealed very 
strongly. His eloquence, his learning, and his methods of interpre- 
tation fascinated them and suggested to these rather ignorant, un- 
cultured members of the Christian community invidious comparisons 
with Paul the humble tent-maker. Even though Apollos and Paul 
were in heartiest accord and recognized no rivalry, as is clearly shown 
by the fact that Paul urged Apollos later to return to Corinth (I Cor. 
16^^), a factious spirit broke out in the ranks of the Greek Christians 
at the commercial metropolis of Achaia. News of this reached Paul 
and was one of the chief themes in his Corinthian correspondence. 
The Christians of Corinth were also especially exposed and susceptible 
to the social immoraUty which characterized the life of that ancient 
maritime city. The case of incest was tolerated even within the 
church itself and the prevailing standard of morality was low. Ques- 
tions of church discipline and of individual responsibility also agitated 
the members of the Christian community. To Greeks trained to 
accept Plato's doctrine of spiritual immortality, the Jewish belief in 
bodily resurrection and of a final judgment day, in which the righteous 
should rise to share in the messianic kingdom with those still living, 
presented great difficulties. These were the major problems which 
are the occasion of the voluminous correspondence between Paul and 
the church which he first planted in Achaia. Apparently he received 
two letters from them and himself sent four to them. Twice he visited 
them. Twice he was informed of conditions there by Christian trav- 
ellers from Corinth and twice he appears to have despatched Timothy 
to them with direct messages. This correspondence represents a period 
of intense activity and apprehension on the part of Paul and at the 
same time reveals with remarkable clarity his spirit and teachings. 

11. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthian Christians. In I 
Corinthians 5^ Paul writes: **In my letter I wrote you that you are 

152 



PAUUS FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS 

not to associate with those who are immoral." From this reference it 
is clear that our present epistle known as I Corinthians is not the 
first in Paul's correspondence with the Corinthians. In the heart 
of the second epistle to the Corinthians is a section (6^^7^) which is 
evidently alien to its present context and begins: "Avoid all unnatural 
ties with unbelievers. What have righteousness and iniquity in com- 
mon or how can light associate with darkness ? " Through six verses 
he emphasizes the importance of Christians not associating with those 
who are immoral. It is exceedingly probable that this is a fragment 
of the missing first letter to which Paul refers. It and the evils of which 
it speaks probably led three of the Corinthian Christians, Stephanus, 
Fortunatus, and Achaicus, of whom Paul speaks in I Corinthians 16^^, 
to visit him in Ephesus and to lay before him the concrete problems 
which he discusses at length in his second letter, now found in I Co- 
rinthians. 

III. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians. First Corin- 
thians is the longest and in many ways the most beautiful letter 
which Paul has bequeathed to us. Here is pre-eminently revealed 
the pastor dealing with the definite question which his Corinthian 
converts had propounded to him in person and with the unfortunate 
conditions which had arisen in Corinth during his absence and which 
had been brought to his attention by the members of the household 
of a certain Christian woman by the name of Chloe. His broad aim 
is to teach the Corinthian Christians how they, in their individual and 
communal life, may realize the ideal of Jesus. The structure of the 
letter is clearly defined. The first nine verses contain his formal 
greeting and the rather measured note of thanksgiving in which he 
refers to the virtues of those to whom he was writing. Chapters 
210-421 contain a kindly but sharp rebuke of the factious tendencies 
of the Corinthians. Here Paul's breadth is strikingly illustrated. 
The individual leaders and their early doctrines are unimportant; 
loyalty to Christ and his cross are alone essential. Here he contrasts 
the Greek philosophies and sophistries, which certain of the Gentile 
Christians of Corinth are inclined to esteem most highly, with the 
simple spiritual message of the Gospel which he had proclaimed. Argu- 
ment, gentle irony, and personal appeal are here united in Paul's char- 
acteristic way. In 5-7 he deals with the lax moral conditions that 
prevailed in the Corinthian church and more concretely with the 
special case of incest which had been reported to him. Here and in 
the succeeding chapters Paul's fundamental principles of living are 

153 



PAUL'S CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE CORINTHIANS 

dramatically set forth. In 8^11^ he defines the proper Christian 
attitude toward idol sacrifices and feasts. In 11^-14^° he discusses 
questions of public worship and the relative values of the different types 
of religious activity then prevalent in the church. Chapter 15 takes 
up the question of personal immortality, and 16 contains Paul's con- 
cluding instructions, salutations, and benediction. Paul throughout 
these burning chapters aims to lead his Corinthian converts to look 
beyond parties and teachers and doctrines to the vital spiritual life 
within the individual, which is the essence of Christianity and of all 
true religion. 

IV. Paul's Third Letter to the Corinthians. Students have 
long noted the dramatic and fundamental contrast in spirit, content, 
and literary style between the first nine chapters of II Corinthians 
and the concluding four chapters. The spirit in the first part of the 
epistle is that of thanksgiving and commendation; in the second part 
Paul sometimes ironically, sometimes appealingly, expresses his sur- 
prise and bitter disappointment at the attitude of those to whom he 
is writing. The glaring inconsistencies of the epistle disappear when 
we recognize that 10-13 probably contain a part of Paul's third letter 
to the Corinthians which has been appended, by a later editor or as 
the result of displacement, to the fourth and final letter now found in 
1-9. In his second letter Paul speaks of Timothy's impending visit 
and urges the Corinthians to receive him with open mind. The apos- 
tle also expresses the hope that he himself may visit them soon. It is 
evident from II Corinthians 10-13 that Timothy did visit them but 
met with a most unfavorable reception, for Paul's kindly but strong 
rebuke of their party strife and lax morality had aroused their resent- 
ment. When the news of this reached Paul, he had apparently gone 
to Corinth, only to meet with rebuff. It was undoubtedly one of the 
most tragic moments in his life. He could endure patiently and even 
joyously the perils of land and sea, but the disloyalty of the Corin- 
thian church cut him to the heart. Evidently certain Judaizers, pos- 
sibly the same who had dogged his footsteps in Galatia, had reached 
Corinth and had poisoned the minds of the Corinthian Christians, 
already smarting under Paul's just rebukes. For the moment they 
were inclined to distrust him and to attribute to him mercenary mo- 
tives. One of the bolder wrong-doers had openly insulted him, and the 
better-minded members of the church had failed to rebuke the of- 
fender. Paul evidently left Corinth baffled and heart-sick. As has 
been truly said, when he wrote his third letter to the Corinthians: 

154 



PAUUS THIRD LETTER 

"He was fighting with his back to the wall." Its labored style speaks 
plainly of the deep emotion that almost overmastered him as he wrote. 
Hesitatingly and yet mider the compulsion of a great necessity, he 
casts aside his modesty and boldly asserts his apostolic authority. 
But gradually, as he writes, his indignation abates and the irony with 
which he opens passes into open appeal and a tender expression of the 
fatherly love which he felt, even toward the disloyal Corinthians. 

V. Paul's Fourth Letter to the Corinthians. The letter con- 
tained in II Corinthians 1-9 is so full of personal detail that its date 
and setting can be determined with great assurance. After writing 
his third letter to the Corinthians, Paul had evidently sent Titus to 
note its effect upon them and to report to him. With keenest ap- 
prehension he awaited this report. When Titus's return was delayed, 
Paul went to Troas and then on to Macedonia, where at last he found 
him. Titus's report removed from Paul's shoulders the heavy burden 
which had so oppressed him. From II Corinthians 1-9 it is possible 
to reconstruct that report. Paul's third letter had evidently aroused 
the troubled consciences of the Corinthians and their old loyalty to 
him asserted itself. Inspired by the good news, Paul wrote in hot 
haste this fourth letter to the Corinthians. It opens with greetings 
in 1^' 2. The first main section (1^-2^^^) is an explanation of his personal 
plans and an expression of his joy over the loyal action of the Co- 
rinthians. Chapters 3^-4® are a defense of his teaching, while 4^-5^^ 
contain the pathetic justification of his own physical weakness and of 
the great misfortunes which had overtaken him and which in the eyes 
of the ignorant were still regarded as evidences of divine disfavor. 
Chapters 5^^~&^ contain a defense of his methods of work. In 6^^"^^, 
7^"^^ is found a joyous song of thanksgiving, prompted by the love and 
loyalty of the Corinthians. Chapters 8 and 9 contain a concluding 
plea for a liberal collection in behalf of the poor saints at Jerusalem. 
This letter is one of the most personal and noble epistles ever penned 
by Paul. It is full of deep emotion and lofty aspiration. It reveals 
with remarkable clarity the exalted motives which inspired him. It 
is the convincing proof of his absolute sincerity and his deep personal 
affection for the men whose hves he was seeking to transform. Here 
the spirit of Jesus again finds expression and enables even the reader 
in this far-away age to appreciate the charm which drew men to Paul 
and made his words a miracle-working force in their lives. 



155 



PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 



§CLVin. PAUL»S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

The If one of you has a grievance against another, does he 

gent' <iare to go to law before sinful pagan judges and not before 
putS" *^® saints? Do you not know that the saints are to sit in 
be- judgment upon the world? If the world is to come under 
cSiS- your jurisdiction, are you incapable of deciding petty ques- 
fi^cor *ions? Do you not know that you are to sit in judgment 
61-6) * upon angels, to say nothing of the things of this life, and 
yet, when you have things of this life to decide, do you 
refer them to the judgment of men who are of no account 
in the church? I speak in order to put you to shame. 
Has it come to this that there is not one wise man among 
you who is able to decide between a man and his brother 
instead of one brother going to law with another, and that 
before imbeUevers? 
The Therefore, the fact that you have lawsuits with one an- 

of uti? other is convincing evidence of a defect in you. Why not 
gation rather let yourself be wronged? On the contrary, you in- 
tween flict injustice and practise fraud, and that upon yotu: brothers. 
to?' ^0 you not know that the wicked will not inherit the King- 
('■") dom of God ? Be not deceived : neither the immoral nor idol- 
aters, nor adulterers, nor any who are guilty of unnatural 
crimes, nor thieves, nor avaricious people, nor the drunken, 
nor the abusive, nor robbers, will inherit the Kingdom of 
God. 
The All things are lawful for me, but all things are not profit- 

tiSi?o'f able for me. All things are lawful for me, but I will not 
Chris- let anything master me. Foods are for the stomach and 
liberty the stomach for foods, but God will cause the one and the 
^'''"^ other to perish. The body is not for immoraUty, but for 
the Lord, and the Lord is for the body. Even as God 
raised up the Lord, so he will also raise us by his power. 
Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? 
Shall I then take away the members of Christ and devote 
them to a harlot? No, indeed. Do you not know that he 
who joins himself to a harlot is one with her in body (for 
the two, it is said, shall become one flesh), while he who 
joins himself to the Lord is one with him in spirit ? Shun 

156 



LIMITATIONS OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY 

immorality! Every other sin that a man commits is out- 
side the body, but the immoral man sins against his own 
body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of 
the Holy Spirit within you, which you have received from 
God, and that you are not your own. For you were bought 
for a price. Therefore, glorify God with your body. 

For married people, my instructions are — yet not mine The 
but the Lord's — a wife is not to separate from her husband, di?o?ce 
or if she has separated, let her remain single or be recon- c^""^') 
ciled to her husband. Also a husband must not put away 
his wife. To other people I say — I, not the Lord — if any 
brother has a wife who is not a believer and she consents to 
live with him, let him not put her away. And if any woman 
has a husband who is not a beUever and he consents to 
live with her, let her not put her husband away. For the 
imbeUeving husband is consecrated through his wife and 
a woman who is not a believer is consecrated through 
tmion with the Christian brother; otherwise your children 
would be unholy instead of being holy, as they now are. 
If, however, the unbeliever is determined to separate, let 
him do so. In such cases the Christian brother or sister 
is not bound as a slave. God has called you to a life of 
peace. O wife, how do you know that you may not save 
yoiur husband? O husband, how do you know that you 
may not save your wife ? 

Let each man continue in the condition of life which the con- 
Lord has assigned to him, just as when God called him. ^ent 
Thus I laid down the rule to all the churches. Was a man ^^^i 
already circumcised at the time when he was called? Let iSf ^ 
bim not efface the marks of it. Has any man been called ^"'^^^ 
when he was imcircumcised ? Then let him not be cir- 
cumcised. Circumcision is nothing and tmcircmncision is 
nothing, but obedience to God's commands is everything. 
Each man must remain in the condition of life in which he 
was when he was called. Were you a slave when you were 
called? Do not mind that; but if you are able to get free, 
make use of the opportunity. But a slave, when he is called 
to be in the Lord, is a freedman of the Lord. In the same 
way a free man who is called is a slave of Christ, for you 
have been bought for a price. You must not become slaves 

157 



PAUUS PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

to men. Brothers, each one must remain with God in the 
condition in which he was when he was called. 
Con- Now as to food which has been sacrificed to idols. *We 
^on^' know about this for we all possess knowledge!* Knowl- 
others* ^^^^ puffs up, but lovo builds Up. Whoever imagines that 
scru- he has some knowledge has not as yet attained the knowl- 
^l^i, 7- edge which he ought to have attained. But if anyone 
9.12,13) loves God, that man is known by him. Now in regard to 
food which has been offered to idols : we know well that an 
idol is nothing in the world and there is only the one God. 
But this knowledge is not shared by all. Some through 
their relation with idols even now eat that which has been 
sacrificed to idols as such, and their conscience being weak 
is polluted. Food itself will not bring us any nearer to 
God, nor do we lose anything if we do not eat; while, if we 
do eat, we do not gain anything. But take care lest this 
Hberty of yours prove a stumbling block to the weak. By 
thus sinning against the brothers and woimding their 
weaker consciences, you are sinning against Christ. There- 
fore if such food causes my brother to fall, I will never eat 
it again as long as I live, lest I should cause my brother to 
fall. 
Paul's Do you not know that those who perform the temple rites 
and* get their food from the temple and that the attendants at 
prac- the altar share the sacrifices? In the same way the Lord 
af an also directed that those who proclaim the gospel are to 
(91^^18^ get their living from the gospel. But I have not availed 
myself of any of these rights, nor do I now write in order 
to secure any of these rights for myself; for I would rather 
die than have anyone render this boast of mine an empty 
one. For if I go on preaching the gospel, that is nothing for 
me to boast of, for the necessity is imposed upon me. Yes, 
woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. For only if I preach 
it willingly, do I receive a rew2ird. If I do it simply because 
I must, it only means that I have a stewardship intrusted to 
me. How then do I get a reward? In that I preach the 
gospel free of charge, that I refrain from using my full rights 
as a preacher of the gospel. 

For though I am free from all, I have made myself the 
slave of all in order to win the more converts. To the Jews 

158 



PAUL'S PRACTICE AS AN APOSTLE 

I have become like a Jew in order to win Jews. To those His 
under the law I have been as if I were under the law in ^^^ 
order to win those under the law. To those outside the ^^ 
law I have become as one outside of the law — though I Sf^ ^ 
am not outside the law of God, but under Christ's law — in ^^^^ 
order that I may win those outside the law. To the weak 
I have become as weak myself in order to win over the 
weak. To all men I have become all things in order to save 
some in all of these ways. And I do all of these things for 
the sake of the gospel in order that I may share in it. 

Do you not know that in a race, though all run, only one The 
receives the prize? So run that you may get the prize. fu% 
Every athlete practises restraint in all ways; but while 
they do this to receive a fading wreath, we do it for the 
sake of one that will not fade. Therefore, I thus run with 
no uncertainty. I plant my blows not as one who beats the 
air; rather I maul and master my body lest I, after preach- 
ing to others, might myself be disqualified. 

So then, let him who thinks he stands securely take care how to 
lest he fall. No temptation has waylaid you that has not J§Jp. 
come to man. God, indeed, is faithful and will not permit ^f^^^^. 
you to be tempted beyond what you can stand ; but when the 
temptation comes, he will also provide a way of escape, so 
that you will be able to bear it. 

Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to com- 
the glory of God. Do not be causes of stumbling either to g^^e- 
the Jews or the Gentiles or to the church of God. Thus I ^^^^^^ 
seek to satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own service 
advantage but at that of the many in order that they may be and ^ 
saved. Imitate me, just as I imitate Christ. man 

As the human body is one, yet has many members, and ''^ 
aU the members form one body, though they are so many, organic 
so it is with Christ. For by one Spirit we have all been u^ty 
baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves chris^ 
or freedmen. We have all been nourished by one Spirit. ^JSth- 
For even the human body does not consist of one member erhood 
but many. If the foot were to say. Because I am not the 
hand, I do not belong to the body, that would not make it 
any less a part of the body. If the ear were to say, Because 
I am not the eye, I do not belong to the body, that would 

159 



PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

not make it any less a part of the body. If all the body 
were an eye, where would the hearing be ? If all the body 
were an ear, where would the smell be ? But as it is, God 
hath placed the members in the body, each as he pleased. 
If they are all but one member, where would the body be ? 
As it is, there are many members and one body. 
Each The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, 
eSen- uor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you. No, 
t(f the ^* ^^ decidedly otherwise. Even those members of the body 
whole which are considered weaker are indispensable, and the 
^''""^ parts which we deem less honorable, we invest with special 
honor, while our indecorous parts receive a special atten- 
tion which it is not necessary to pay to our more decorous 
parts. Rather, God hath built up the body and bestowed a 
special attention on the parts that lacked, so that there 
might be no disunion in the body but that the parts might 
have a conunon concern for one another. And if one mem- 
ber suffers, all members suffer with it. If one member is 
honored, all the members share its honor. You, indeed, 
are Christ's body and individually members of it. Thus 
God hath set people in the church, first as apostles, second 
as prophets, third as teachers, then workers of miracles, 
then those who are able to cure diseases, helpers, admin- 
istrators and those who speak in tongues of various kinds. 
Are all apostles ? Are all prophets ? Are all teachers ? Are 
all workers of miracles? Are all able to cure diseases? 
Are all able to speak in tongues ? Are all able to interpret ? 
But always seek the highest gifts. And now I will point 
out to you a still higher way. 

The Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, 

preme But haVO UOt lOVe, 

g^*j I am become like sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 

(u^-n Though I have the gift of prophecy. 

And know all mysteries and all knowledge. 
And have such faith that I can remove mountains, 
But have not love, I am nothing. 
Though I distribute all my goods to the poor, 
And give up my body to be burned, 
But have not love, it profits me nothing. 
160 



LOVE'S WAY 

Love is patient and kind, Loves 

Love knows no jealousy, c^?:] 

Love is neither boastful nor conceited, 

It is not shameless nor self-seeking, 

It is never provoked nor resentful. 

It rejoices not in evil, 

But rejoices in the truth. 

It covers all faults. 

It believes all things, 

It hopes all things. 

It endures all things. 

Love never fails; its 

As for prophecies, they shall be set aside, 2f™^ 

As for tongues, they shall cease, p^_ 

As for knowledge, it shall be set aside, nent 

For we know in part, acter 

And we prophesy in part, ^'"''^ 

But when that which is perfect comes. 

That which is imperfect shall be set aside. 

When I was a child, 

I talked as a child, 

I thought as a child, 

I argued as a child. 

But now that I am become a man, 

I have put away childish things. 

For now we look in a mirror and are puzzled, 

But then we will meet face to face. 

Now I know only in part. 

But then I will fully know. 

Even as I have been fully known. 

And so these three abide: 

Faith, hope, and love. 

But the greatest of these is love. 

Follow after love and zealously seek spiritual gifts, but orityoi 

most of all that you may prophesy. For he who speaks in ^y^^' 

tongues is not speaking to men but to God, for no one im- ^^^ 

derstands him. He is speaking of divine secrets in the ecstasy 

Spirit. But he who prophesies, speaks to men that which is i3,il'!i9) 

161 



PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

edif5nlng, encouraging, and comforting. He who speaks with 
tongues edifies himself, but he who prophesies, edifies the 
church. I would like to have you all speak with tongues, 
but I would prefer to have you prophesy. The man who 
prophesies is superior to him who speaks with tongues — 
unless, indeed, the latter interprets, so that the chiurch re- 
ceives edification. Therefore, let a man who speaks in 
tongues pray that he may be able to interpret it. Thank 
God, I speak in tongues more than any of you ; but in church 
I would rather say five words with my own mind, in order 
that I might instruct other people, than ten thousand in 
tongues. 
The What then, brothers? Whenever you meet together each 

^£ has something to contribute: a song of praise, a teaching, 
^ffg a revelation, a speaking in tongues or an interpretation; 
(26-3to. |)ut let ail things be for edification. If there is speaking in 
'^""^ tongues, let two or at the most three speak, one at a time. 
Also let someone interpret. If there is no interpreter, 
let the speaker keep quiet in chiurch and speak to himself 
and God. Let only two or three prophets speak, and let 
the rest use their judgment. If a revelation comes to one 
who is seated, let the first speaker be silent. You can all 
prophesy, one after another, in order that all may learn 
and all be encouraged, for the spirits of the prophets are 
subject to the prophets, for God is not a God of disorder but 
of harmony. If anyone considers himself to be a prophet 
or gifted with the Spirit, let him recognize that what I 
write to you is a command of the Lord. If anyone ignores 
this, let him be ignored. To sum up, my brothers : zealously 
seek to prophesy and do not check speaking with tongues; 
but let everything be done in a decorous and orderly 
manner. 

I. Paul's Teachings Regarding the Christian's Duty in His 
Economic Relations. The heart of Paul's second letter to the 
Corinthian Christians (now found in I Cor.) contains detailed an- 
swers to certain practical questions which they had raised in a letter 
that Paul had recently received. In the light of the answers it is 
possible to determine the character of these questions. Each question 
and its answer must be interpreted in the light of its peculiar Corin- 

162 



A CHRISTIAN'S DUTY IN HIS ECONOMIC RELATIONS 

thian background. Corinth, because of its geographical position and 
resulting commercial activity, was the scene of constant and doubt- 
less bitter litigation. This tendency was intensified by the mixed 
character of its population. After its destruction by the Romans 
JuUus Caesar had recolonized it with Italians and dispossessed Greeks. 
Both of these races, and especially the Greeks, were given to quarrels 
and lawsuits, and the population of Corinth largely consisted of the 
pioneer spirits who had settled there, or their descendants. Evidently 
the Corinthian Christians could not quickly throw off their inheritance, 
especially in the contentious atmosphere in which they lived. Ap- 
parently the question raised by the leaders of the Corinthian church 
was whether disputes between Christians should be referred to the 
Roman courts. Paul answered: "No." He argued that certainly 
there was enough justice and legal insight within the Christian com- 
munity to settle all petty disputes. He also called their attention to 
their belief that the Christians, as heirs to the promises originally given 
to the Jewish race, were ultimately to sit in judgment upon the heathen. 
This beUef is clearly one of Paul's Jewish inheritances, and yet back of 
it Hes the great fact that, inasmuch as the true Christians embodied 
the higher principles of their Master, the injustice and crime of the 
Gentile world were to be revealed by comparison with the righteous 
and pure lives of Jesus' followers. This teaching, however, was only 
preliminary to Paul's more fundamental treatment of the question. 
His ultimate argument rested upon Jesus' law of love. He who de- 
frauds or wrongs another, or even entertains hate against another, 
thereby excludes himself from participating in God's rule in the world, 
for such acts and feelings are evidence that God is not ruling in his 
life. If Jesus' principle of considering first the best interests of the 
other is applied, the very causes of lawsuits are removed. The exis- 
tence of such lawsuits, therefore, is evidence that they have reverted 
to the old condition from which Paul's preaching and the Gospel of 
Jesus had temporarily lifted them. Thus, by kindly irony, plain logic, 
and an appeal to the lofty social ideals of Jesus, Paul endeavored to 
lift the ignorant and sorely tempted Corinthian Christians to the high 
level of social living demanded by their Master. 

II. Paul's Advice Regarding Sex Questions and Divorce. 
It was inevitable that insistent sex problems should come to the fore- 
front in ancient Corinth. The city was steeped in social immorality. 
We are told that in the great temple of Venus, which stood on its 
acropolis, there were to be found one thousand courtesans. Gross 

163 



PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

immorality stalked abroad under the guise of religion. There is little 
wonder that Paul said with vehemence to his Corinthian converts: 
"Shun immorality." Licentious feasts and inunoral practices con- 
fronted and allured them at every turn. This deadly leaven was even 
working within the Christian community itself. Some of its members 
were interpreting Paul's own words, **A11 things are lawful for me/' 
as an excuse for mere license. They also insidiously urged that, as 
it was right to gratify the appetite for food, so also the grosser 
appetites. With his usual skill, Paul met this seductive reasoning. 
*'Yes," he declared, "all things may be lawful, but all things are not 
good." Waving aside all appeal to the Jewish or Roman law, he de- 
clared that the analogy drawn between the bodily appetites was not 
valid. The body is not for self-gratification but for the glorification 
of God. It is the dwelling-place of God's Spirit. Social immorahty 
means the pollution of the body, the lowering of the individual to the 
level of the harlot, and hence the destroying of the seat of the spiritual 
life. The figure which he employs to crystallize this fundamental 
teaching was especially effective with the Greek Christians at Cor- 
inth. The glory of Greece and of Corinth was its temples. The 
temple was the symbol of the abiding presence of the Deity. For 
centuries among all ancient peoples its sanctity had been jealously 
guarded by laws and institutions. Therefore, when Paul declared 
that the human body was the temple of the Spirit of God, he set forth 
in a way never to be forgotten one of the most fundamental teachings 
of Christianity. 

Paul answers questions of social morality in the light of the peculiar 
conditions existing in Corinth. He nowhere suggests that he is laying 
down universal rules for the Christian world. On only one point is 
he absolutely certain and that is regarding divorce and remarriage. 
Here he reiterates in clearest terms Jesus' command, as recorded in 
Mark 10^"^. No husband or wife is to break the marriage bond and 
remarry another. The wife may separate from her husband for suf- 
ficient grounds, but is to remain single. On his own authority Paul 
advises Christians married to unbelievers not to separate. If the un- 
believing partner insists upon separation, Paul grants that the Chris- 
tian brother or sister is thereby freed from the marriage bond; but in 
the same breath he earnestly exhorts all Christian husbands and wives 
to spare no effort to save their unbelieving partners. The entire aim 
in Paul's teaching is to preserve the sanctity of the marriage relation 
even in the most desperate cases. 

164 



MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE 

In his advice to the Corinthian Christians Paul undoubtedly reveals 
a slightly ascetic tendency which is one of the chief bases of mediaeval 
monasticism and similar modern movements. He frankly states, how- 
ever, that it is not on the authority of Jesus, but simply to insure the 
freedom of the individual Christians in the Corinthian church and to 
** secure decorum and concentration upon a life of devotion to the 
Lord" (7^- ^^). He also says that the chief reason why he counselled 
those who are able to remain unmarried is the distress that he deems 
imminent and because he believes the interval until Christ comes again 
is short. At the same time he does not forbid marriage nor say that 
it is in any sense evil. In Ephesians 5^^-^ we have his true convic- 
tions regarding marriage expressed under more normal conditions. He 
there uses the figure of the marriage relation to describe Christ's in- 
timate relation to the church. He reaffirms, as did Jesus (in Mark 
10^), its divine foundation as set forth in Genesis 2^^ Far from con- 
demning it, he simply endeavors to make its bonds so strong that 
nothing can sever them. He exhorts all wives to reverence and be 
subject to their husbands. Even though Paul lacks Jesus' supremely 
chivalrous attitude toward woman, he does assert in Galatians 3^ : 
**There is no room for slave or freeman, there is no room for male and 
female; you are all one in Christ Jesus." To his exhortation to wives 
in Ephesians 5 (which reflects his oriental conception of woman) he 
adds the ringing command to husbands: "Let every man of you love 
his wife as himself." In I Corinthians V' ^ he also places the intimate 
obligations of the husband to his wife and of the wife to her husband 
on an absolute equality. Here again we recognize the direct reflection 
of Jesus' absolute democracy and knightly chivalry which have ex- 
alted woman to her rightful place. 

III. Paul's Practical Application of Jesus' Law of Love. 
The detailed problems of the tempted and perplexed Corinthian 
Christians precipitated some of Paul's noblest and most practical 
teachings. One of these questions was: "Shall we eat food that has 
been offered to heathen idols?" It is evident that much of the food, 
and especially the meat thus offered, was later exposed for sale in the 
public markets of Corinth. Hence it was almost impossible for the 
Christians to be sure that any food which they might buy had not 
been thus polluted. This insistent question had evidently developed 
two parties in the Corinthian church. One echoed Paul's teachings 
and asserted: "We all possess knowledge; belief is the essential thing. 
Mere ceremonial questions are entirely unimportant. As long as our 

165 



PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

faith is clear and true, it makes no difference what we eat." The other 
party — ^possibly the Cephas party — had not yet broken away from 
their traditional regard for ceremonial distinctions. Obviously the 
more broad-minded Corinthian Christians found great difficulty in 
satisfying the demands of these two antithetic positions. Paul meets 
the situation in his characteristic practical way. "Yes," he declared, 
** knowledge is all right but it puffs up. There is a higher principle 
and that is love, for it builds up." Here again he used a word which 
appealed with peculiar power to the Greek mind. To build was their 
dominant ambition and genius. Knowledge, Paul declares, is indi- 
vidualistic but love is social and constructive. Thus early in his epistle 
he strikes that lofty note which forever immortalizes it. His applica- 
tion of the principle of love is as clear as it is convincing. It is the 
guide of individual liberty. Liberty and knowledge thus guided by love 
will never permit a brother to ride roughshod over the conscientious 
scruples of a fellow Christian. In eating food offered to idols, there- 
fore, each man will be governed not only by his own conception of 
what is right but by the effect of his act upon his less enlightened 
brothers. Back of Paul's teachings lay his own life and example, 
which he repeatedly cites with great effectiveness. Forgetting his 
own individualistic point of view and selfish wishes, he had become all 
things to all men to win them to Christ. Again adopting a figure very 
dear to the inhabitants of a city long famous for its Isthmian games, 
he urges the Corinthian Christians to keep this high goal ever in view 
and, like trained athletes, make everything else subservient to attain- 
ing it. At the conclusion of this discussion stands Paul's great social 
confession of faith: "Thus I seek to satisfy all men in all points, aiming 
not at my own advantage but at that of the many that they may be 
saved." In this practical way Paul interpreted by example, as well 
as by word, Jesus' supreme command: "Do to others as you would 
have them do to you." 

IV. "The Body of Christ.'* In setting forth his social teach- 
ings, Paul employed a figure already used by the Stoic philosophers. 
They, however, spoke of all humanity as one body. Paul had in mind, 
when he used this pregnant phrase "the Body of Christ," the collec- 
tive group of Christian believers. It was the objective social realiza- 
tion of Jesus' ideal of the Kingdom of God. It recognized that in 
this more ideal social group each had his own peculiar gift and task. 
If one member suffers, all the members share his suffering. As each 
contributes faithfully to the rest, the whole body prospers. The 

166 



THE BODY OF CHRIST 

fidelity of each individual member is, therefore, essential to the welfare 
of the whole. Hence each individual gift must be consecrated to the 
common social good. It was from this higher vantage-point that Paul 
approached the problems presented by the jealousy between the dif- 
ferent members of the Corinthian church and the heartburns caused 
by the fact that some appeared to possess higher spiritual gifts than 
others. It is evident from liis statements that the intellectual and 
emotional life of that church was intense. Paul recognized the danger 
that it might become merely individualistic, merely emotional, and 
therefore shallow. The picture which he gives of its life is exceedingly 
illuminating. In his recapitulation he places first the more intellectual 
gifts: the power to speak words of wisdom and knowledge by the 
Spirit; second, the gift of faith and the corresponding power of heal- 
ing; third, the more intuitive gift of prophecy, which is e\ddently here 
used in the sense of preaching and exhorting; and, fourth, the uncon- 
scious gift of tongues or ecstatic utterance and the power of interpret- 
ing the meaning of these emotional ejaculations. Each, Paul declares, 
is inspired by the same divine Spirit. Each is of value simply as it 
is made to conserve the common good. The one supreme aim must 
be the edification, that is, the building up of the Christian body. 

V. Paul's Immortal Hymn in Praise of Love. It was while 
Paul was struggling to emphasize the importance of the motive that 
should lie back of these various expressions of the religious life that 
there dawned upon him the immortal principle which is crystallized 
in his matchless hymn in praise of love. It is one of his wonderful 
digressions, and yet it was the culmination of all of his thinking in the 
early part of the epistle and the embodiment of his own life and expe- 
rience. He calls it the still higher way in which these spiritual gifts 
are to be used. With a remarkable breadth and insight he declares 
that all those gifts that were so highly esteemed in the early church, 
and even the most passionate self-sacrificing devotion, were absolutely 
useless unless inspired and guided by brotherly love. Then follows 
the familiar description of the characteristics of love's way in I Cor- 
inthians IS^''. Its background is the personal ambitions, the jealousy, 
the self-glorification, the backbiting, the factiousness, and the dis- 
couragement of the Corinthian Christians. Clearly Paul sees the 
intellectual and moral perils that confront them. Only as they are 
lifted into the higher levels of faith and feeling can they hope to realize 
the ideals which he set before them. Childish, indeed, seemed their 
bickerings. Like a father, he yearned to lead them on from imper- 

167 



PAUL'S PRINCIPLES OF CHRISTIAN LIVING 

fection to perfection, to teach them step by step until they might at- 
tain a perfect vision of truth. In meeting all these universal needs, he 
declared that not human knowledge but faith and hope and love were 
eternal and invincible; yet the greatest of all was love. 

§ CLIX. PAULAS MINISTRY AT EPHESUS 

Paul at When Priscilla and Aquila reached Ephesus, Paul left 
f^J^^' them there, but he went into the synagogue and argued 
181*5^2!) with the Jews, who asked him to stay for a longer time, 
but he would not consent. Instead, taking leave of them, 
he said, I will come back to you, if it be the will of God. 
Then sailing from Ephesus and reaching Caesarea, he went 
up to salute the church and then travelled down to An- 
tioch. After spending some time there he went off on a 
journey through the Galatian and Phrygian region, strength- 
ening all the disciples. 
Apoi- Meanwhile a Jew by the name of Apollos came to Ephe- 
Ephe- sus. He was a native of Alexandria, a man of culture, 
SiSa strong in his knowledge of the scriptures. He had been 
(21-28) instructed in the way of the Lord, and he preached zeal- 
ously and taught accurately about Jesus, though all the 
baptism he knew was that of John. He began to speak 
boldly in the sjmagogue; but after Priscilla and Aquila 
listened to him they took him home and explained more 
accurately to him the way of God. And as he wished to 
cross over to Achaia, the brothers wrote urging the dis- 
ciples there to welcome him. And on his arrival he ren- 
dered great service to those who by God's grace had be- 
lieved, for he powerfully and publicly refuted the Jews, 
showing from the scripture that Jesus was the Messiah. 
Dis- It was while Apollos was in Corinth that Paul, after pass- 

o?john hig through the inland districts, came to Ephesus and found 
|t ^^ there certain disciples to whom he said. Did you receive 
su^ ^ the Holy Spirit when you believed? No, they repUed, we 
^*''^^ have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Then 
he said. In what were you baptized? They replied. In 
John's baptism. John, said Paul, baptized with a baptism 
of repentance, telling the people that they should believe 
him who was to come after him, that is in Jesus. When 
they heard this, they had themselves baptized in the name 

168 



sus 

(8-10) 



(U-20) 



DISCIPLES OF JOHN AT EPHESUS 

of the Lord Jesus. And after Paul laid his hands on them, 
tiie Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began speak- 
ing with tongues and prophesjdng. They were in all about 
twelve men. 

Then Paul entered the synagogue and for three months PatQs 
spoke fearlessly, arguing and persuading people about the ^^^^^^ 
Kingdom of God. But as some grew stubborn and dis- ^^ork 
obedient, defaming the way in the presence of the multi- Iphe- 
tude, he left them, withdrew the disciples, and continued 
his argument every day from eleven to four in the lecture 
room of T3rrannus. This continued for two years, so that 
aU the inhabitants of the province of Asia, both Jews and 
Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. 

God also worked no ordinary miracles by means of Paul, Mir- 
so that even towels or aprons which he had used were If^^ 
carried to the sick and they were deUvered from their dis- foymed 
eases and evil spirits came out of them. Certain travelling Paui 
Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronotmce the name of 
the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, I 
adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. The seven 
sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing 
this; but the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know 
and Paul I know, but who are you? And the man in whom 
was the evil spirit, springing at them, overpowered two of 
them and treated them with such violence that they rushed 
out of the house stripped and wounded. This became 
known to all the inhabitants of Ephesus, Jews as well as 
Greeks; and awe fell on them all, and the name of the 
Lord Jesus was magnified. Many believers also came to 
confess and declare what they had done. And mmibers 
who practised magic arts collected their books and burned 
them in the presence of Paul. When they added up their 
value they found that they were worth about ten thousand 
dollars. Thus the word of the Lord mightily increased and 
prevailed. 

After these events had transpired Paul resolved in the Pauvs 
spirit to travel through Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem, ^}^^ 
saying. After I get there I must see Rome. So he sent 
two of his assistants to Macedonia, Timothy and Erastus, 
while he himself stayed on for a while in Asia. 

169 



PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS 



The 
silver- 
smith's 
attack 
upon 
Paul 

(23-40) 



It was about that time that no small commotion arose 
over the way. For a silversmith by the name of Deme- 
trius, by making silver shrines of Artemis, brought rich 
profit to his workmen. Calling these together, along with 
the workmen who followed similar trades, he said to them, 
You men well know that this trade is the source of our 
wealth. You also see and hear that not only at Ephesus 
but over almost all the province of Asia this Paul has drawn 
off a considerable number of people by persuading them 
that hand-made gods are no gods at all. There is danger 
therefore not only that this our trade will be discredited but 
also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will fall 
into contempt and that she will be degraded from her 
majestic rule, she whom all the province of Asia and the 
inhabited world worship. When they heard this they were 
filled with rage and kept crying out. Great is Artemis of 
the Ephesians! So the city was filled with confusion, and 
they rushed into the theater dragging with them Gains 
and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were travelling with 
Paul. Paul also wanted to enter the popular assembly, 
but the disciples would not permit him. Certain of the 
Asiarchs, who were friends of his, also sent entreating him 
not to venture into the theater. Now some of the people 
were shouting one thing, and some another; for the assem- 
bly were in confusion, and most of them had no idea why 
they had come together. Certain of the mob concluded 
that it must be Alexander, since the Jews pushed him to 
the front. So Alexander, motioning with his hand, desired 
to defend himself before the people; but when they dis- 
covered that he was a Jew, one cry broke from them all, 
and for about two hours they shouted, Great is Artemis of 
the Ephesians ! Then the recorder, quieting the mob, said, 
Men of Ephesus, who is there among men that does not 
know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple 
of the great Artemis and of the image that fell from heaven? 
Therefore, since these things are so, you should keep calm 
and do nothing reckless. But instead you have brought 
these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor 
blasphemers of our goddess. If Demetrius and his fellow 
tradesmen have a grievance against anybody, public ses- 

170 



THE ATTACK OF THE SILVERSMITHS 

sions of the courts are held and there are proconsuls; let 
both sides state their charges. If you desire anything 
further, it must be settled in the legal assembly of the 
citizens. Indeed we are in danger of being charged with 
riot in connection with to-day*s proceedings, for there is 
no reason that we can give for this riot. After saying these 
words he dismissed the assembly. 

When the tumult had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples Paul's 
and encouraged them. Then, taking leave of them, he went jfeT 
on his way to Macedonia. After passing through these through 
districts and encouraging the people with many an address, {li^^-^f 
he came to Greece, where he spent three months. Just 
as he was about to set sail for Sjrria, a plot was laid against 
him by the Jews. He therefore decided to return through 
Macedonia. And these accompanied him : Sopater of Beroea, 
the son of Pyxrhus, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessa- 
lonica, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy and Tychicus and Trophimus 
from the province of Asia. These went on ahead to wait for 
us at Troas, while we sailed from Philippi after the days of 
unleavened bread and joined them at Troas, where we spent 
seven days. 

On the first day of the week, when we met for the breaking Paul's 
of bread, Paul was addressing them, for he was to leave on Ifuak 
the next day. And he continued his address imtil midnight, ^^^yj 
Now there were a considerable number of lamps in the upper chusi" 
room where we met. In the window sat a yoimg man ^^""^ 
named Eutychus and, while Paul preached on and on, he 
was overcome with drowsiness, went fast asleep, and fell 
from the third story, and was picked up dead. But Paul, 
going down, threw himself upon him and embraced him. 
Do not lament, he said, for his life is stUl in him. Then he 
went up stairs, broke bread and ate ; at length after convers- 
ing with them imtil dawn he departed. As for the lad, they 
took him away alive and were greatly comforted. 

Now we had gone on beforehand to the ship and set sail Paui 
for Assos, planning there to take Paul on board, for this poA^of 
was his own arrangement, since he intended to travel by Ephe- 
land. So when we met him at Assos, we took him on board (l^^w) 
and went to Mitylene. Sailing from there on the following 
day, we arrived opposite Chios. Next day we crossed over 

171 



PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS 

to Samos and went on the following day to Miletus, for 
Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus in order that he might 
lose no time in the province] of Asia, for he was very eager 
if possible to reach Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost. 
His ad- From Miletus Paul sent to Ephesus and called to him the 
to^the elders of the church. When they came to him, he said> 
elders You kuow Well how I Uved among you all the time since I 
"^ set foot in the province of Asia; how I served the Lord in 
all humiUty and with tears and trials which came to me 
through the plots of the Jews, how I never shrank from 
declaring to you anything that was for your good or from 
teaching you in pubUc and in your houses, bearing my 
testimony both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward 
God and faith in. our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold 
I go to Jerusalem, impelled by the Spirit. What things 
will befall me there I do not know. Only I know this, 
that in every city the Holy Spirit testifies to me that bonds 
and troubles are awaiting me. But I set no value on my 
own life, if I may but finish my course and carry out the 
commission that I received from the Lord Jesus to attest 
the gospel of the grace of God. 

And now behold I know that not one of you shall ever see 
my face again — ^you among whom I went about preaching 
the Kingdom of God. Therefore I protest before you this 
day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, 
for I never shrank from declaring to you the entire purpose 
of God. Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock of 
which the Holy Spirit has appointed you guardians that 
you shepherd the church of the Lord which he has bought 
with his own blood. I know that when I am gone, fierce 
wolves will enter in among you, and they will not spare the 
flock, and that many of your own number will arise who will 
pervert the truth in order to draw away the disciples after 
them. Therefore be on your guard, remember how for 
three whole years I never ceased night and day admonish- 
ing each of you with tears. And now I commend you to 
God and the word of his grace. He is able to build you 
up and give you yotu: inheritance among all the consecrated. 
I coveted no man*s silver, gold, or apparel. You yourselves 
know how these hands of mine provided everything for my 

172 



PAULAS ADDRESS TO THE ELDERS 

own needs and for those who were with me. In all things 
I set you an example that, working as I do, you should succor 
the needy and remember the word of the Lord Jesus, who 
said, It brings more happiness to give than to receive. 
Having spoken thus, Paul knelt down and prayed with them 
all. Then they all broke into loud lamentation and falling 
upon PauPs neck, kissed him lovingly, sorrowing most of 
all because he told them that they would never see his 
face again. Then they escorted him to the ship. 

I. Paul's Journey to Syria. As has already been noted, Paul's 
original objective in his second missionary campaign was Ephesus. 
He apparently had intended to go there at once after leaving Achaia 
and to remain. Instead he made a hmried trip to Syria. His reason 
for so doing is not stated in the biblical narrative and evidently was 
an open question in the minds of the early narrators. The author of 
Acts inferred that his object was to salute the mother church at 
Jerusalem. Under the influence of this inference, Luke, in Acts 18^, 
has not stated directly but left his readers to imply that Paul actually 
went to Jerusalem. Here one recognizes the influence of Luke's pro- 
found regard for the authority of the Jerusalem church. There is 
much evidence, however, that Paul did not revisit Jerusalem at this 
time. The account of the completion of his third missionary journey 
in Acts 21 clearly implies that he had not returned since the council 
at Jerusalem. At his private interview with the "pillar" apostles the 
one command which they had laid upon him was to remember the 
poor with gifts. That he would return to Jerusalem empty-handed 
is almost incredible. The evidence rather is that he went back to 
Antioch and there remained for some time. The situation suggests 
that the reasons which led him to do so, instead of going directly back 
to Ephesus, were twofold. The first was his need of rest after his 
exceedingly strenuous and in many ways discouraging work at Corinth. 
Paul, the native of the seaport town of Tarsus, was naturally fond of 
the sea and for him the sea journey was ordinarily restful rather than 
arduous. His remaining for some time at Antioch, even though the 
crying needs of the western fields were ringing in his ears, is best 
explained because of his need of rest. The other and probably the 
principal reason why he returned to Syria was that, after having rested 
for a time, he might revisit the churches of Galatia. Apparently the 
strenuous letter which he had written these Galatian churches was 

173 



PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS 

penned at Corinth and he was naturally desirous of following it in per- 
son. Inasmuch as the land journey was far more arduous, he wisely 
determined to make it, not on his retiu-n to Antioch, but as he, again 
refreshed, set out for his new field of activity. That he did then re- 
visit the Galatian churches is stated by Luke. This time Paul fol- 
lowed the great Roman highway westward, from Antioch in Pisidia, 
taking the northern, more mountainous, route directly to Ephesus. 
Then at last, after having revisited the scenes of his earlier missionary 
activity, he found himself free for work in the chief emporium and 
political capital of the Roman province of Asia. 

II. The Political and Religious Importance of Ephesus. The 
province of Asia was one of the largest, richest, and most closely knit 
of all the Roman provinces in Asia Minor. Here at Ephesus the Ro- 
man proconsul had his official residence. From Ephesus great com- 
mercial highways radiated to all the important cities of the province, 
and it was the chief gateway which led over the sea to Corinth and 
Rome. On the main highway to the east lay the cities of Colossae 
and Laodicea. Northward, all within a radius of one hundred and 
fifty miles, were Sardis and Thyatira, the cities in which were estab- 
lished the important Christian churches mentioned in the opening 
chapters of Revelation. Ephesus was in many ways the most in- 
fluential city in which Paul had as yet worked. Like most Greek 
cities, it encircled a hill rising about five hundred feet from the 
plain and crowned with an acropolis. The business and intellec- 
tual centre of the city was on the west of this hill looking toward the 
sea. On its northwestern slope above the River Cayster was the 
huge stadium capable of holding fully six thousand people. Here Paul 
with the Ephesian populace doubtless witnessed many of the popular 
games from which he draws some of his most effective figures of speech. 
Farther to the south on the western brow of the hill was the great 
theatre. The remarkably well-preserved ruins which have been ex- 
cavated at this point probably represent a somewhat later theatre 
built on the site of the one which figures so prominently in the nar- 
rative of Acts. It marked the centre of the life of the ancient city. 
Just below it to the northwest was the Roman agora, while to the 
southwest was the famous Hellenistic agora, surrounded by beautiful 
porticos with public halls on the south. Not far from this point prob- 
ably stood the Hall of Tyrannus. 

According to tradition, Ephesus was settled by a Greek colony 
from Athens in the eleventh century B.C. Even before the Greeks 

174 



THE RELIGIOUS IMPORTANCE OF EPHESUS 

appeared, the city was already famous as the shrine of a native nature- 
goddess, whose temple lay on the broad plain beside the Cayster to 
the northeast of the Grseco-Roman Ephesus. Recent excavations 
have laid bare the foundations of this ancient sanctuary far below 
the huge platform of the great Greek temple of Artemis, which was 
built as early as the sixth century B.C. Out of the conflicts between 
the Greek colonists and the priestesses of the native temple grew the 
famous traditions of the Amazons who fought as men. In Paul's 
day the temple of Artemis stood seven feet above the plain on a great 
artificial platform, which had been built on the ruins of earlier temples. 
It is approached by ten steps, and covered an area of over eighty 
thousand square feet. Its huge columns rose more than sixty feet 
above the platform. Standing in solitary grandeur in the midst of 
the great plain, it appears to have well merited the signal honor of 
being reckoned as one of the seven wonders of the world. The oracles 
of the Greek goddess Artemis rivalled those even of Delphi, although 
they never appear to have exerted as wholesome a political or moral 
influence as did those of its more famous Hellenic rival. To the temple 
of Artemis came fugitives from all parts of Asia Minor, for within 
its sacred precincts they were immune from all pursuit or attack. It 
was also the great banking centre of that part of the Roman Empire, 
for kings as well as thousands of private individuals placed their 
wealth under the protection of the temple authorities, assured that it 
would be safely guarded. The gifts of thousands of pilgrims swelled 
the temple's income and supported the vast horde of virgin priestesses 
and ceHbate priests, of temple singers and hymn-writers, and of menial 
servants associated with this ancient shrine. The hierarchy of the 
temple and those whose income was dependent either directly or in- 
directly on the worship of the temple were always a powerful factor 
in the life of Ephesus. The city itself bore the coveted title of "Guard- 
ian (literally. Sweeper) of the temple." 

III. Conditions that Confronted Paul at Ephesus. As early 
as 44 B.C. the Roman consul Dolabella had granted to the Jews of 
Ephesus the toleration of their religious rites, the privilege of Sabbath 
observance, and protection in making pilgrimages to Jerusalem (Jos., 
Ant., XIV, 10^2' 2^). Augustus had later confirmed these privileges. 
Paul, therefore, found a strong Jewish colony at this great commercial 
metropolis. As at Corinth, he also found them unwilling to accept a 
religion which was offered to Jew and Gentile alike and which set 
aside as obsolete many of the inherited laws of their race. Ephesus 

175 



PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS 

was pre-eminently given up to magic and the religious quackeries in- 
herited from the ancient religions. Many Jews were found in a cos- 
mopolitan city like Ephesus who, for mercenary reasons, practised 
these magical arts. To this class belonged the strolling Jewish ex- 
orcists, the sons of Sceva, who figure in a popular tradition concerning 
Paul's work at Ephesus which the author of Acts has incorporated in 
his narrative. Ramsay is probably right in saying that "the writer 
is here rather a picker up of current gossip, like Herodotus, than a real 
historian" (St. Paid, p. 273). The story, however, records the in- 
dubitable fact that Paul here came into constant contact with this 
debased Judaism, in which popular demonology, angelology, and 
superstition were grotesquely commingled. Modern excavations have 
revealed hundreds of the magic papyri, or **Ephesian letters," as they 
are called because most of them were prepared in Ephesus. Although 
the prevailing religious life of Ephesus was shallow, the spirit of the 
city was on the whole tolerant. Here all religions of the East and 
West and of the North and South — ^Judaism, Gnosticism, the oriental 
mystery cults, Greek and Alexandrian philosophy, and nature-faiths — 
commingled; but the prevailing religious fashion was to single out and 
combine what was attractive in each. Hence, as long as Paul did 
not interfere with vested or financial interests, he was free to teach 
whatever and whenever and wherever he pleased and was sure of a 
liberal hearing. 

IV. Paul's Method of Work at Ephesus. Again Paul's mar- 
vellous gift of adapting himself to any situation was well illustrated. 
The narrative in Acts states that he first went into the Jewish syna- 
gogue and endeavored by argument and persuasion to convince them 
that Jesus had inaugurated the Kingdom of God for which their race 
was longing, but that they rejected the way of thinking and living 
which he proclaimed. Then Paul adopted and followed a daily pro- 
gramme which evidently fitted the peculiar conditions of that ancient 
Ionian city in which the working hours for all classes began with sun- 
rise and extended to eleven o'clock in the morning. The remainder 
of the day they spent in their homes or at public places. Paul ap- 
parently plied his trade of tent-maker during business hours. Then, 
when the lecture hours of the public philosophers and rhetoricians 
were over, he secured the lecture hall of one of them, a certain Tyrannus, 
and, as is recorded in the Beza text, argued publicly from eleven to 
four each day. In closely crowded Ephesus many were doubtless 
attracted to the lecture room of Paul the Christian philosopher. Jews 

176 



PAUL'S METHOD OF WORK 

and Greeks, and many visiting strangers from the neighboring cities 
of Asia listened to his fervid appeals. In Ephesus Paul himseK must 
have become intimately acquainted with the mystery-religions of 
Asia Minor from which are drawn many of the figures of speech that 
appear in his later letters. His epistle to the near-by church of 
Colossae is an excellent illustration of the way in which he probably 
combated the prevalent gnostic doctrines. 

At Ephesus Paul built on foundations already laid by his co-workers 
Priscilla and Aquila, if not by earlier Christian apostles. In thus build- 
ing he departed from his general rule of action because he recognized 
the great strategic importance of Ephesus. Evidently he made it 
the base for missionary activity throughout Asia. Epaphras and 
probably Timothy were sent to establish a Christian community in 
Colossae (Col. 1^"'^). Tychicus possibly did similar pioneer work in 
Laodicea (Eph. 6^^). The personal letter appended in chapter 16 to 
the Epistle to the Romans was evidently written to the Christians of 
Ephesus (c/., e. g., Rom. 16^) from Corinth, after Paul had left the 
capital city of Asia. In it are found warm personal greetings addressed 
to his fellow workers in Asia. Twenty-four in all are mentioned in 
this short letter. It suggests how well and how broadly Paul's work 
at Ephesus was organized and that Ephesus was but the centre through 
which he sought to reach all the important cities in southwestern Asia 
Minor. 

V. Paul's Conflict with the Pagan Cults. For a considerable 
period Paul's work seems to have met with little opposition. In his 
contest with the Jewish exorcists the sympathy of a majority of the 
Ephesian populace was with him, for the anti-Jewish feeling was evi- 
dently strong. He does not appear to have come into direct conflict 
with the authorities of the temple of Artemis. The Asiarchs, some of 
whom sympathized with Paul, were the oflBcial local representatives 
in the province of the worship of the emperor and of Rome. Their 
task at this period was apparently more political than religious, for 
the bitter conflict between Christianity and the Roman emperor- 
worship still lay in the future. According to Acts, the first strong 
opposition to Paul's teaching came from organized labor and was due 
to the fact that his teachings had already gained a wide acceptance 
throughout the city. One of the favorite offerings of the pilgrims to 
the temple of Artemis was a votive image, which was presented to the 
goddess by the offerer and left within the temple precincts. These 
votive images represented the goddess seated on a throne. Those 

177 



PAUL'S MINISTRY AT EPHESUS 

offered by the poorer people were usually made of terra-cotta. The 
wealthy brought images of silver. The guild of the silversmiths, of 
which Demetrius was the spokesman, evidently manufactured these 
silver images. Contemporary inscriptions indicate that there were 
many guilds of manual workers in ancient Ephesus. Thus, for example, 
the guilds of the wool-workers, of the surveyors, and of the workmen 
before the gate are mentioned in the inscriptions. They constituted, 
therefore, an important class in this commercial metropolis and were 
able by the cry of class interest to stir the mob to action. While sub- 
ject to the strict supervision of Rome, Ephesus still enjoyed the demo- 
cratic organization of a typical Greek city. It had its senate and in 
addition its popular assembly. In the peculiar civic organization of 
the cities of Asia Minor, the recorder or clerk was the leading official, 
as appears in the narrative of Acts. This narrative is probably cor- 
rect in stating that he opposed the class uprising, fearing Roman sus- 
picion and possible interposition. Either through ignorance of facts 
or intentionally the author of Acts has failed to speak of the greater 
misfortunes which overtook Paul. In fact, the exact order of events 
is not entirely clear, although it is obvious that the scene in the theatre, 
at which Paul was not present, occurred during the latter part of his 
sojourn at Ephesus and was probably one of the causes of his ultimate 
departure. Paul himself declared that he fought with wild beasts at 
Ephesus and many are inclined to interpret these words literally. It 
is possible, however, that he had in mind the infuriated mob which 
sought his life and that of his associates. In a later letter, \\Titten to 
the Corinthian Christians from Ephesus, he states that he nearly 
lost his life there (II Cor. 11^). There can be little doubt that the 
closing months of his activity were marked by bitter opposition and 
persecution. 

VI. The Results of Paul's Work at Ephesus. Paul spent 
more time and apparently suffered more bitter persecution at Ephesus 
than at any other city that he visited except Rome, where he at last 
gave his life for the cause he served. At Ephesus also he had to con- 
tend against a complex of false philosophies, as well as pagan super- 
stitions. And yet it proved a most fruitful field. In writing from 
there to the Corinthians he declared: **A great door'^is opened to me" 
(I Cor. 16^). There he was able to rally about him an exceedingly 
loyal band of helpers. In the Ephesian letter, appended to Romans, 
he speaks of "Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Jesus who 
for my life laid down their own necks" (Rom. 16^' ^). Two others, 

178 



THE RESULTS OF PAUL'S WORK 

Andronicus and Junius, shared a prison experience with him. Ephesus 
and the province of Asia in the succeeding centuries proved one of the 
great strongholds of Christianity, and yet the results of Paul's per- 
sonal work there appear to have been far less permanent than else- 
where. We have no record that he ever again visited or wrote any 
other letter to the Ephesian Christians except the short personal note 
in Romans 16. Even in this he urges his fellow workers at Ephesus 
to keep their eye on ''those who stir up dissensions and put hindrances 
in your way, contrary to the doctrine which you have been taught. 
Avoid them. Such creatures are no servants of Christ our Lord, they 
are slaves of their own base desires; with their plausible and pious talk 
they beguile the hearts of unsuspecting people." In Paul's later ad- 
dress to the Ephesian elders he is represented as warning them that 
** fierce wolves vnil get in among them, and they will not spare the 
flock"; also that "men of their own number will arise with perversions 
of the truth to draw the disciples after them" (Acts 2129' 30). These 
statements point to the many heretical and especially gnostic doctrines 
that sprang spontaneously from the already infected soil of Ephesus. 
In their earlier dealings with Rome the citizens of Ephesus had repeat- 
edly shown themselves exceedingly fickle. The same impression re- 
garding the Ephesian church is conveyed by the letter addressed to 
it in Revelation 2*' ^. The two letters to Timothy, to whose care the 
Christian communities in Asia were intrusted, indicate that the 
loyalty to Paul which had characterized the other churches of his 
planting was lacking here. II Timothy 1^^ contains the sweeping 
statement: ''You know that all who are in Asia have turned away 
from me." While their nominal allegiance appears to have been trans- 
ferred from Paul to John the presbyter and other apostolic leaders, 
the pioneer work of Paul remained the foundation of the church in 
Asia, and the principles laid down by him reappear in the rich Johan- 
nine literature that later sprang from Ephesus (§ CLXIX). 

§ CLX. PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' SAVING WORK 

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, Greet- 
set apart for the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ *(^om. 
our Lord, through whom I have received grace and a com- i'- ^■^) 
mission to promote obedience to the faith for his name's 
sake among all the Gentiles, among whom are you also, 
who are called to belong to Jesus Christ; to all in Rome who 

179 



(8-15) 



PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK 

are beloved by God, called to be saints, Grace and peace 
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Paul's First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for 
tfon to you all, because yoiu: faith is reported throughout the whole 
Roman world. God is my witness, the God whom I serve with my 
church spirit iu the gospel of his Son, how unceasingly I always 
mention you in my prayers, asking if at last the way may be 
opened to me by God's will to come to you. For I long to 
see you that I may impart to you some spiritual gift for yom: 
strengthening or, in other words, that I may be comforted 
by meeting you, I by your faith and you by mine. Brothers, 
I would not have you ignorant that I have often purposed 
to come to you (though hitherto I have been prevented) so 
as to have some results among you, as well as among the 
rest of the Gentiles. I have an obligation to Greeks and to 
barbarians, to wise and to foolish alike. Hence my eager- 
ness to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome. 
Thesis: J indeed am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God's 
S)u£^" saving power for everyone who has faith, for the Jew first 
?omes ^^^ ^^^ *^® Greek as well. In that gospel God's righteous- 
aione ness is revealed by faith to develop faith, as it is written: 
fait'h'^^ Now the righteous shall Uve by faith. 
(13-17) p^j. ^j^g wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all 
Failure the impurity and wickedness of those who hinder the truth 
hea?^ by their wickedness, for what is to be known of God is 
woSd pl^^ to them; for God himself hath made it plain. For, 
to since the creation of the world, his invisible things, his 
?S-^ everlasting power and divine nature, have been clearly 
®^^|" perceptible in what he hath made, that they may have no 
because excuse. Though they knew God, they have not glorified 
offaSh him as God nor given him thanks; they have given them- 
mS?^ selves up to futile speculations and let their senseless 
minds be darkened. Claiming to be wise, they have be- 
come fools; and they have exchanged the glory of the 
immortal God for the semblance of a likeness of mortal 
man, of birds, of four-footed beasts, and of reptiles. So 
God hath given them up in their heart's lust to sexual vice, 
to the dishonoring of their own bodies; for they have ex- 
changed the truth for a lie and have worshipped and served 
the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. 

180 



THE LIKE REWARD FOR JEW AND GENTILE 

He it is who will render to everyone according to his Jew 
works, eternal life to those who by patiently doing good gentile 
seek for glory, honor, and immortality, but wrath and in- to be 
dignation to those who are factious, who disobey the truth warded 
and obey wickedness. Trouble and anguish are for every f^^® 
human being who does evil, for the Jew first and for the t^^ir 
Greek as well; but glory, honor, and peace for everyone ?26^3) 
who does good, for the Jew first and for the Greek as well. 
There is no partiality with God. All who sin outside the 
law will perish outside the law; and all who sin under the 
law will be condemned by the law. For it is not the hearers 
of the law who are just before God, it is those who obey 
the law who will be acquitted on the day when God judgeth 
the secret things of men. 

What then, have we Jews any advantage ? Not at all, Failure 
for we have already charged both Jews and Greeks that Jews to 
they are under sin, as it is written. None is righteous, no, attam 
not one ; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All eous- 
have turned aside, one and all have become unprofitable; tffough 
no one does good, not a single one. For no mortal will ^^f}^"^ 
be acquitted in his sight by acts of obedience to the law, for 2°) 
through the law simply comes the consciousness of sin. 

But now apart from the law a righteousness of God has Kight- 
been disclosed. It is attested by the law and the prophets, ^eS' 
but it is a righteousness of God through faith in Jesus j^^^^gj^ 
Christ. It is for all who have faith, for there is no dis- chris? 
tinction. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ^'' ''^ 
but they are justified freely by his grace through the ran- 
som provided by Jesus Christ. God set him forth as a 
means whereby men might, through faith in his blood, win 
divine forgiveness. This was to demonstrate the justice 
of God because he had passed over previously the sins 
committed during the period of God^s forbearance, and to 
demonstrate the justice at the present epoch, showing that 
he himself is just and justifieth every man through faith in 
Jesus. Where then is the boast ? It is excluded ! By 
what law ? Of works ? No, by the law of faith. We 
hold that a man is justified by faith apart from the works 
of the law. Or is God only tiie God of the Jews? Is he 
not the God of the Gentiles also ? Surely he is of the Gen- 

181 



PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK 

tiles also. Surely then there is one God, and he will jus- 
tify the circumcised by faith, and the uncircumcised through 
faith. Do we then make the law of none effect through 
faith? No, indeed! We estabUsh the law. 
Abra- For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he 
lifiS-^^ should inherit the world, was not made through the law, 
onh?? ^^* through the righteousness of faith. For if they who 
piin- are of the law are heirs, faith is without meaning, and the 
(4^}-^i7b) promise is made of none effect. What the law produces 
is wrath; but where there is no law, there is no trans- 
gression. For this reason inheritance depends upon faith, 
tiiat it may be a matter of divine favor, to make the promise 
sure to all the offspring, not only to those who hold to the 
law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham, who 
is the father of us all, as is written: I have made thee a 
father of many nations. 
The Therefore, since we are justified by faith, let us enjoy 

the peace we have with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 



way 



g^^jg Through him we also have gained access to this grace 
aty wherein we stand, and we exult in the hope of God's glory. 
through And not only so, but we also exult in our troubles, knowing 
cast's tiiat trouble produces stedfastness, and stedfastness pro- 
sacri- duces tested character, and tested character produces hope. 
fsi^ii) This hope never disappoints us, for God's love has flooded 
our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to 
us. For while we were yet weak, in due season Christ 
died for the ungodly. Why, one will scarcely die for a 
righteous man, though one might perhaps dare to die for 
a good man. But God proveth his own love toward us, in 
that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much 
more then, now that we are justified by his blood, shall 
we be saved from the wrath of God by him? For if, while 
we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death 
of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall 
we be saved by his life. Not only so, but we exult in God 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we now re- 
ceive our reconciUation. 

There is therefore no condemnation for those who are in 
Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit of life in Christ 
Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. For 

182 



THE NEW SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN 

what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do, God The 
hath done by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful spw- 
flesh. And to deal with sin he condemned sin in the flesh, ^^f^^^ 
in order that the just requirements of the law might be ful- to the 
filled in our lives, as we walk not by the flesh but by the §S^^" 
spirit. For those who are fleshly minded incline to the ^^^""^ 
things of the flesh, but those who are spiritually minded in- 
cline to the things of the spirit. The inclinations of the 
flesh mean death, but the inclinations of the spirit life and 
peace. For the inclinations of the flesh are hostile to God, 
for they do not submit to the will of God (indeed they can- 
not). Those who are in the flesh cannot please God, but 
you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if the Spirit of God 
dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of 
Christ does not belong to him. But, if Christ is within 
you, though the body is dead as a result of sin, the spirit 
is living as a result of righteousness. And, if the Spirit 
of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells within 
you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will 
also make your mortal bodies Uve because his Spirit is 
dwelling within you. 

So then, brothers, we are under no obligation to the pbiiga- 
flesh to Uve by the flesh. If you live by the flesh you must and^ 
die, but, if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the f^g^^ot 
body, you will Uve. For as many as are led by the Spirit spM- 
of God these are the sons of God. For you have not re- son- 
ceived a slavish spirit that would make you fear again; ^^p. 
but you have received the spirit of sonship, whereby we 
cry, Abba Father! This Spirit bears witness with our own 
spirit that we are children of God; and if children then 
heirs, heirs of God and heirs with Christ also ; for we share 
his suffering in order to share his glory. 

I consider that the sufferings of this present life are not Man's 
worthy to be compared to the glory which shaU be revealed swp 
to us. Even the creation waits in eager expectation for the ^^°^ 
revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was sub- goal of 
jected to vanity, not by its own choice but by him who thus tfon" 
subjected it, whose hope being that creation itself will also ^'*"> 
be deUvered from the bondage of corruption and gain the 
glorious Uberty of the children of God. For we know that 

183 



PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK 

even until now the whole creation sighs and throbs in pain; 
and not only so but we ourselves also, who have the first- 
fruits of the Spirit, sigh to ourselves as we wait for the de- 
liverance of our body that means our adoption as sons. 
By this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is not 
hope. Whoever hopes for what he sees already ? But, if 
we hope for something that we do not see, we wait for it 
patiently. 
Assis- So also the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do 
of^^*^ not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit pleads for 
s5?it ^^ w^*^ sighs that cannot be uttered, and he who searcheth 
(26, 27) hearts knoweth what is in the mind of the Spirit, for the 

Spirit pleads for the saints according to the will of God. 

Roll of We know also that to those who love God, even those who 

who® are called according to his purpose, all things work together 

God ^^^ good. For those whom he knew beforehand he also 

(28-30) appointed beforehand that they might be transformed into 

the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first-bom of 

a great brotherhood. Then he also called those whom he 

had appointed beforehand, and those whom he called he 

also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 

invui- What then shall we say to all this? If God is for us, 

secu?^ who can be against us ? Will not he who spared not his 

those ^ own Son but gave him up for us all freely give us all things ? 

who . Who will lay a charge against those whom God hath chosen? 

eSd's" When God acquitteth, who will condemn? Will Christ 

veiled' J^sus ? — ^he who died, yes, and rather who was raised 

through from the dead, who is at God^s right hand, who also pleads 

(sl^s^) for us ! Who can ever separate us from Christ^s love ? 

Can tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or 

nakedness, or peril, or the sword? For, as it is written. 

For thy sake we are killed all the day long, we are accoimted 

as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are 

more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I 

am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels 

nor principalities, neither things present nor things to come, 

neither powers of the height or of the depth, nor any other 

created thing will be able to separate us from God's love in 

Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Oh the inexhaustible wealth of God's wisdom and knowl- 

184 



GOD'S OMNISCIENCE AND GOODNESS 

edge ! How unsearchable his judgments ! How mysteri- Gods 
ous his way! Who ever knew the mind of the Lord? S<5" 
Who has ever been his coimsellor ? Who has first given ^nd^ 
to him and has to be repaid ? All things come from him, neas ' 
live by him, and return to him. Glory to him forever. (*^"") 
Amen. 

I. Date and Aim of Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Paul's 
letter to the Romans is the best New Testament illustration of an 
epistle. Upon it Paul evidently expended great thought and care. 
The Epistle to the Galatians reminds one of a rapid mountain torrent, 
but in Romans Paul's thought flows more leisurely, winding here and 
there, gathering a great variety and volume of figiu'es as it flows on 
to the practical applications with which the epistle closes. It was a 
dramatic moment in Paul's life when he dictated this letter to the 
Christian community at Rome. His work at Ephesus and Corinth, 
and in fact in the Greek world, was nearing completion. Longingly 
he looked at the great Roman ships setting out from Corinth for the 
imperial city. As he tells his readers, to visit them was one of the chief 
ambitions of his life. His long days and nights of labor with Pris- 
cilla and Aquila at Corinth and Ephesus had given him ample oppor- 
tunity to become acquainted mth the problems of the Roman church. 
Doubtless many of his own converts, having gravitated toward the 
imperial city, were included in its membership. It appears to have 
comprised both Jewish and Gentile converts, for Paul in his letter evi- 
dently had both classes in mind. Even though his heart was in Rome, 
his face was steadfastly set toward Jerusalem. He was well aware of 
the opposition and perils which awaited him there, but nothing could 
deflect him from his purpose to take back as a peace-offering to the 
saints at Jerusalem the collections which he had gathered in response 
to the request of the "pillar" apostles from the churches which he had 
planted in the Western world. The Gentile problem which was still 
insistent throughout the Eastern church was evidently prominent in 
Paul's mind as he wrote his Epistle to the Romans. He also felt 
strongly the call of that larger Gentile world which Rome represented. 
He longed, as he tells his readers, to take up his evangeUstic work 
among them, but his primary aim was, as has been truly said: *'A 
restatement in the light of his experience, during the long mission now 
closing, and in view of the fresh propaganda which he was contemplat- 
ing in the West, of the principle of his Gospel to the Gentiles in its re- 

185 



PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK 

lation to Judaism/' Romans contains not a system of philosophy or 
theology, but Paul's great confession of faith. The situation called 
for the systematic setting forth of his mature convictions and the 
principles that had inspired him in his work. Here is revealed not 
Paul the theologian but Paul the Christian mystic and missionary. 

II. The Structure of the Epistle to the Romans. Into the 
opening salutation (1^-'^) Paul puts not only his formal greeting but also 
his credentials as an apostle and the essence of his Gospel message. 
In l^-^'' is found the usual commendation of those to whom he wrote, a 
statement of his aim in writing to them, and the thesis which he later 
defends. Chapters V^-5^^ contain his main teaching. Here he seeks 
to show what God has done through the work of Jesus to meet the 
needs of both Gentiles and Jews. In 6^-7® he makes certain practical 
applications of these principles and defines the obligations of those 
who enjoy the results of divine grace: it is to dedicate themselves to 
God and to live, like Jesus, a sinless life. In 7'^-'^^ he reverts to the 
problems that gathered about the Jewish law and declares that it was 
simply preparatory to the work of Jesus but not able in itself to save 
men. Romans 8 is one of the great classical passages in Paul's writings. 
Here he speaks clearly out of the depths of his own spiritual experi- 
ence and aims to show what Christ means in the inner life of the in- 
dividual. ** Christ" is not used here in the limited Jewish messianic 
sense. It stands not only for all that Jesus did and taught and was 
but also for the crucified yet living Christ whom Paul had beheld 
through his inner vision. Chapters 9-11 give the reason why the 
Jews, the favored people, had not been saved: through failure to be- 
lieve in Jesus they had forfeited their birthright; but in God's plan 
they were yet to have a place with the Gentiles. Chapters 12-15 con- 
tain the practical application of the principles of the Gospel to Chris- 
tian life and conduct. Chapter 16 is a personal letter that has been 
appended to the original Epistle to the Romans. 

III. Paul's Estimate of the Jewish Law. In Paul's letter to 
the Roman Christians the historical student of religion recognizes the 
many and varied currents of influence which converged in the great 
apostle to the Gentiles. Most of the figures and many of the ideas 
expressed in this epistle are the product of his intensely legalistic train- 
ing. His natural tendency to speak in legal terms was strengthened 
by the fact that he lived and worked in the rigidly legalistic atmos- 
phere of the Roman Empire in which he proudly claimed citizenship. 
So often had he pleaded his own case before Jewish and Roman tribunals 

186 



PAUL'S ESTIMATE OF THE JEWISH LAW 

that it was second nature for him to speak in the language of the court- 
room. Whenever he referred to the Jewish law it was always in terms 
of highest respect. On its ethical side it still had for him a certain 
binding authority. He was keenly alive to its historical and practical 
value as a clear, concrete formulation of fundamental moral and re- 
ligious principles. To Israel, during the childhood of the race, the law 
had been, like a Roman pedagogue, a wise guide directing the nation's 
moral and religious education. But Paul was also well aware of the 
limitations of the law. It had begotten in the majority of his coun- 
trymen self-pride and a sense of moral self-sufficiency which were 
fatal to all real religious progress. Moreover, Paul knew by painful 
experience that while the law developed in the mind of a conscientious 
man like himself a bitter consciousness of sin, it provided no practical 
way of escape from its consequences. Above all, the law emphasized 
the judicial side of God's character and provided no way of bringing 
man into that trusting, loyal fellowship with his divine Father which 
is the essence of true religion. Hence, Paul frankly declares that, while 
the ancient law had performed a great service in training men's moral 
sense, as a means of saving men from the consequences of their igno- 
rance and misdeeds and of leading them into complete and joyous fel- 
lowship with God it was a failure. To this he adds the revolutionary 
but logical conclusion that the Jews who had staked their hope on 
keeping the law were, after all, on an equality with the Gentiles. In- 
deed, if their confidence in the efficacy of the law had dulled their 
consciousness of the need of the personal fellowship with God, their 
lot was even more pitiable than that of the great heathen world of 
Paul's day, which was longing and earnestly seeking for salvation and 
unity with God. 

IV. The Influences which Shaped Paul's Conception of Jesus. 
Into Paul's life there had suddenly come a mighty transforming and 
satisfying spiritual experience. Psychology may explain the form of 
this experience, but it was regarded by Paul as a supreme miracle. 
Interpreted into the terms of the psychology of his own day, he had ex- 
perienced what the contemporary mystery religions promised to their 
devotees: God (in the person of the crucified but risen Christ) had 
entered in and taken possession of him. This transcendent religious 
experience was repeated at many later crises of his life. That such 
experiences were possible was almost a commonplace of contemporary 
Greek or Roman religious thought. For centuries the teachers of 
the Jewish race also had taught that the Spirit of Jehovah at times 

187 



PAUL'S INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK 

rushed upon and took possession of the true prophets and even of 
patriotic warriors like Gideon and Saul. The prophet Joel had pre- 
dicted that this experience would be shared in common by all classes 
of men. The primitive church at Jerusalem had felt and seen the 
marvellous realization of this prediction. 

In Paul's confession of faith (Rom. 1-11) the influence of many 
other inherited beliefs may also be recognized. Pharisaic Judaism 
had taught him to believe in the pre-existence and the supernatural 
character of the Messiah or Christ. In the light of Paul's own experi- 
ence it was difficult for him to think of Christ, a spirit, as other than 
ever existent. In apocalyptic passages, like Daniel 7'^, *'the one like 
to the Son of man" was represented as coming from the heavens 
and as standing beside the throne of God. On the other hand, legal- 
istic Judaism, as interpreted by IV Ezra, represented the Messiah 
as an atoning sacrifice intended to propitiate the divine judge. Al- 
though not in the Old Testament, in the contemporary Jewish litera- 
ture, such as the Wisdom of Solomon, II Baruch (48^2- ^), and IV 
Ezra (3^), Adam, the traditional forefather of the human race, is re- 
garded as the source of all the sin and woe which he has transmitted 
to his descendants. The burdening belief that all flesh was bowed 
to earth by a crushing, cumulative weight of sin was shared alike 
by Stoic philosophers and thoughtful Jews. In his own spiritual ex- 
perience of Jesus and in that of his fellow Christians Paul found the 
fulfilment of all his inherited hopes and beliefs and the solution of all 
his spiritual problems. It was also inevitable that he should interpret 
Jesus and his work in the light of these varied inheritances. To ignore 
this fact is to misinterpret Paul and to fail to appreciate his perma- 
nent contributions to Christianity which are enmeshed in the figures 
and beliefs of a bygone age. 

V. Paul's Doctrine of Salvation through Faith in Christ. 
To understand Paul's teachings it is also important to note that he 
is fond of using a great variety of figures to set forth the same ultimate 
truth. This method is a characteristic of most great religious teachers. 
The more important the truth the more important that it be viewed 
from many points. Paul, in his endeavor to make clear what Christ 
has done for him and could do for all men, used four familiar figures, 
each drawn from the legal vocabulary of his age. It is evident that 
they all represent the same vital experience in the life of the individual. 
The first, that of the redemption or emancipation of a slave from 
bondage, was grimly suggestive and familiar to every citizen of that 

188 



SALVATION THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST 

ancient world. It was probably suggested by Jesus' words, recorded 
in Mark 10^: "The Son of man has come not to be served but to serve 
(as a slave) and to give his life as a ransom for many (slaves)." The 
underlying idea is closely related to Paul's characteristic doctrine of 
Christian liberty. By its use he declared that Jesus came to free men 
from the bondage of that merely judical relationship to God of which 
Paul frequently speaks and which in his experience he found so onerous. 
Another figure was that of justification or acquittal. This figure, of 
course, was suggested by the ancient courts of justice, where the culprit 
was arraigned by the representatives of the state and his release was 
assured only when his innocence could be proved or palliating circum- 
stance adduced. Here, as in each of these parallel figures, the domi- 
nating idea is that deliverance or salvation is attained as the result of 
the divine love expressed in the work and death of Jesus. A third 
figure was that of forgiveness. Here the sinner was thought of as a 
debtor to whom God had granted full forgiveness, because of divine 
love which Jesus supremely exemplified and proclaimed. The fourth 
parallel figure was that of reconciliation. It implied that the sinner 
by his acts had put himself in an attitude of enmity toward God. 
Jesus is again the one who reconciles him to his divine Father. 

It is significant that in each of these figures, by which Paul de- 
scribes the salvation of the individual, the work of an intermediary 
between God and man is implied, if not absolutely required. It em- 
phasizes the fundamental difference between Paul's own relation to 
God and that of Jesus. Jesus did not desire nor would he have toler- 
ated any intermediary between himself and God. Paul and the great 
majority of his fellow Christians in the past, as in the present, crave 
such an interpreter of God. In supplying this practically universal need, 
Paul and the early apostles made their supreme contribution to Chris- 
tianity, for they proclaimed Jesus to be the great interpreter of God 
to man. Christ in man and man in Christ made personal fellowship 
with God possible and easy. Here Paul unconsciously joins hands 
with the Greek mystics. His doctrine of Christ in him and he in 
Christ was not a mere figure of speech nor a dogma; it was a deep, 
transforming, spiritual experience which freed him from his conscious- 
ness of sin and gave him instead a consciousness of fellowship with 
God. Sometimes Paul attributed this mystic experience to the pres- 
ence of Christ, sometimes to the Spirit of Christ, and sometimes to 
the Spirit of God within him. In Romans 8^"" he uses these three 
synonyms together: **But you are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if 

189 



PAUyS INTERPRETATION OF JESUS' WORK 

the Spirit of God dwells in you. Any one who does not have the Spirit 
of Christ does not belong to him; but if Christ is within you, though the 
body is dead as a result of sin, the spirit is living as a result of righteous- 
ness. And if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead 
dwells within you, then he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will 
also make your inmiortal bodies live because his Spirit is dwelling 
within you." Like certain of the early writers in Acts, Paul evidently 
uses the terms ''Spirit of Jesus," "Holy Spirit," and "Spirit of God" 
interchangeably. The ultimate basis of his mysticism is the contrast 
between a life governed by the fleshly passions and a life governed by 
the higher spiritual emotions which find their source and inspiration 
in God. It is a life of fellowship and loyal co-operation with God 
made possible as the individual is touched by the personality and in- 
spired by the teachings of Jesus. It is this spiritual experience which 
Paul describes by his favorite term "faith in Christ." It is not mere 
subscription to articles of belief, but it is the effect of the Spirit of 
Christ at work in the heart of the individual. It is the spirit of love 
which Jesus proclaimed and exemplified, which transforms men into 
his likeness and binds them together in loyal, devoted, self-sacrificing 
service of the great brotherhood which he founded. WTien this Spirit 
is at work in the heart of a man his past sins and his evil habits no 
longer have power over him; he is conscious of God's forgiveness, and 
is invincible against the pains and perils of life, for he is " more than a 
conqueror through him who loved us." No power in heaven or earth 
can separate him " from God's love in Jesus Christ our Lord." It is 
thus that men are saved through faith in Christ. Well is this trans- 
forming spiritual process described in the primitive Christian prayer 
preserved in the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles: "We thank thee, 
our Father, for the life and the knowledge which thou hast made known 
to us through Jesus thy Servant." 

§CLXI. PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

Theme: I besecch you, therefore, brothers, on account of the 
Jew mercies of God, dedicate your bodies as a living sacrifice, 
prin- holy and acceptable to God, for this is your reasonable 
oFseu- service. And do not be moulded in conformity to this world, 
^^Q^' but be transformed through the complete renewal of your 
(Rom. mind, so that you may be able to make out what is the will 
of God, even what is good and acceptable and perfect. 

190 



EACH TO DO HIS TASK 

By virtue of the divine authority granted to me, I charge Each 
every one of you not to think of hunself more than he ought faiu?- 
to think; but so to think that he will attain a sane estimate f^y 
of himself according to the degree of faith which God hath task 
apportioned to each. For just as in our one body we have ^Jjch 
many members, and all the members do not have the same g^^is^ 
functions, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and (3-8)^ 
we are each members one with another. We have different 
gifts according to the grace that is given us ; if it is prophecy 
let us use it in proportion to our faith; if practical service, 
in practical service ; the teacher must do the same in teach- 
ing; he who exhorts in his exhortation; he who gives must 
do it liberally; he who is an authority must be in earnest; 
he who does acts of mercy must do liiem cheerfully. 

Let love be without hypocrisy; abhor what is evil, cleave inWs 
to what is good. In your love for your brothers feel true r?ia^^ 
affection for one another. In matters of honor jdeld to one Jjo^^ 
another. Be not lacking in zeal; keep alive the spiritual fSiow 
glow; serve the Lord; rejoice in your hope; be steadfast in ^^' 
trouble, persistent in prayer; contribute to the needs of J,'*"'^*' 
the saints, constantly practise hospitality. Rejoice with 
those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Think 
in harmony one with another. Strive not for the high things, 
but associate with the humble. Do not be self -conceited. 

Bless those who persecute you, bless and curse them not. The 
Do not pay back evil for evil to anyone; take thought for §^^|" 
what is seemly in the eyes of all. If possible, as far as it awi- 
depends on you, Uve at peace with all men. Never revenge toward 
yourselves, beloved, but give place to the wrath of God; 
for it is written. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the ") 
Lord. Rather, if your enemy is hungry feed him, if he is 
thirsty give him drink; for in so doing you will heap coals of 
fire on his head. Be not conquered by evil, but conquer 
evil by doing good. 

Every individual must obey those who rule over him, for The 
there is no authority apart from God; the existing author- §^.|" 
ities have been constituted by God. Therefore, whoever ^3jjf *° 
resists authority is resisting the order estabUshed by God, author- 
and they who oppose will bring judgment on themselves. (*i^i.7) 
For rulers are no terror to right-doers but to wrong-doers. 

191 



15) 



all men 

(14, 17- 



feUow 
men 

(8-10) 



PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

You wish, do you not, to have no fear of authority? Then 
do what is right and you will be commended by it, for a 
ruler is the servant of God for your good. But if you do 
wrong, you have cause to fear, for he does not bear the 
sword for nothing, for he is God's servant to inflict divine 
punishment upon evil-doers. It is necessary, therefore, 
that we should obey, not only to avoid divine vengeance, 
but also for conscience' sake. For this same reason we 
pay taxes, for tax collectors are God's servants, devoting 
their energies to this very thing. Render to all their dues, 
tribute to whom tribute is due, taxes to whom taxes, respect 
to whom respect, and honor to whom honor is due. 
To ws Owe no man anything, except to love one another, for he 
who loves his fellow man has fulfilled the law. For the 
commands. Thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt 
not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet, these and 
all other commands are summed up in this one word. Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love does no wrong to 
a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. 
obuga- You also know what this crisis means: that it is high 
ofThe time to arouse ourselves from sleep, for salvation is nearer 
?rfsS^* to us now than when we first believed. The night is far 
(12-14) advanced, the day is near. Let us, therefore, lay aside the 
deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light. Let us 
behave ourselves becomingly, as in the light of day without 
revelry or drunkenness, without lust or sensuality, without 
quarrelling or jealousy. Rather let us put on the character 
of the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for gratify- 
ing the cravings of the flesh. 
Toiera- Receivo a man of weak faith, but not to pass judgment 
toward upou his scHiples. One man has faith enough to eat all 
^uuu) things; while the man of weak faith eats only vegetables. 
Let not the one who eats look down upon the one who does 
not eat, nor let the man who does not eat condemn him 
who eats all things, for God hath received him. Who are 
you that you should criticize the servant of another ? 
Whether he stands or falls concerns only his own Master, 
and stand he will for the Master hath power to make him 
stand. One man rates one day above another, while an- 
other man rates all days alike. Let every man be fully 

192 



TOLERATION OF OTHERS' CONVICTIONS 

convinced in his own mind. He who rates highly a cer- 
tain day does it for the Lord. The eater also eats to the 
Lord, for he gives thanks to God ; and he who refrains from 
eating, refrains for the Lord's sake and he also gives thanks 
to God. For none of us lives for himself and none of us 
dies for himself; for if we live, we Uve for the Lord, and if 
we die, we die for the Lord. Thus whether we live or 
whether we die, we are the Lord's. It was for this that 
Christ died and Hves again in order that he might be the 
Lord both of the dead and of the living. And why do you 
criticize your brother? Or you, why do you look down upon 
your brother? All of us will have to stand before God's 
tribunal, for it is written: 

As I Uve, saith the Lord, 

Every knee shall bend before me. 

And every tongue shall make confession to God. 

Every one of us, therefore, will have to give an account 
of himself to God. 

Therefore, let us no longer criticize one another. Rather con- 
make this decision, never to put any stumbling block or tjon^^" 
hindrance in your brother's way. I know and am convinced ^%^^- 
in Christ that nothing is in itself unclean, except that it is ?on-^ ^ 
unclean to the man who considers it unclean. If your If^^^ 
brother is being troubled because of food that you eat, then scru- 
you are no longer living in accordance with the law of love, o^^^^^) 
Do not by the food that you eat ruin that man for whom 
Christ died. Therefore let not what is good for you become 
a cause of reproach, for the Kingdom of God is not a matter 
of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and 
joy in the Holy Spirit. He who serves Christ in this way 
is acceptable to God and esteemed by men. 

We who are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the obuga- 
weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of us should fowlrd 
please his neighbor in order to do him good by building the 
him up. And this is our duty, for Christ did not please T^i^-^) 
himseft, but, as it is written. The reproaches of those who 
reproached thee fell on me. For what was written of old 
was written for our instruction, that through our stead- 
fastness and the encouragement of the scriptures, we might 

193 



(16b-21) 



PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

have hope. May the God who inspires steadfastness and 
encouragement grant to you that you may think in such 
harmony, one with another, after the example of Christ 
Jesus, that with one heart and voice you wUl glorify the 
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
The Therefore, welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed 

Sfbpth you, for the glory of God. Christ, I say, became a servant 
in?^^ to the circumcised in order to vindicate God' s truthfulness 
GenbOe in showiug how suro are the promises given to our forefathers 
ers^oYa") and also that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. 
Even so it is written. For this reason I wiU praise thee among 
the Gentiles and sing to thy name. 
The My aim has been to make the Gentiles an offering ac- 

Ifmin ceptable to God and consecrated by the Holy Spirit. There- 
pgii's fQj-g^ I iiQYe cause to be proud in Christ Jesus of the work 
work which I have done for God, for I will not presume to speak 
of anjrthing except what Christ has accompUshed through 
me in securing the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and 
deed, by means of signs and miracles, and by the power 
of the Holy Spirit. The fact is that, from Jerusalem around 
as far as Illjrricum, I have proclaimed fully the gospel of 
Christ. My ambition, however, has always been to preach 
the gospel only where Christ's name had not been men- 
tioned lest I should be building on a foundation laid by 
another man, but, as it is written. 

That they might see to whom no report about him 

had come. 
That those who had not heard of him should xmder- 

stand. 

I. The Two Sides of Paul's Personality and Teaching. Paul's 
breadth and greatness are attested by the fact that throughout the 
ages the most diverse types of mind have found in him their supreme 
inspiration. Ignatius, Luther, and Calvin are only a few of his many 
devoted, spiritual disciples. For eighteen centuries each generation 
has taken from Paul that which most appealed to its interests and 
needs and left the rest of his teachings almost untouched. A theo- 
logical age found in Paul's writings the materials from which it recon- 
structed a complete metaphysical system. Now, in the present strongly 

194 



THE TWO SIDES OF PAUL 

social age, Paul promises still to hold his place as a moulder of Chris- 
tian thought. The explanation of this marvel is Paul himself. At 
heart he was a mystic, but, unlike most mystics, he was intensely prac- 
tical. This fact alone saved his theology from becoming mere vague 
mysticism or cold philosophy. His head was often in the clouds, but 
his feet were always planted squarely on earth. Faith meant every- 
thing to him, and yet in many of his writings he asserted in most 
practical terms that "faith without works is dead." This unique 
combination of mysticism and the strongly ethical and social interpre- 
tation of religion is undoubtedly the explanation of his continuous 
leadership. Men to-day may reject many of his theoretical doctrines, 
but they cannot escape the charm and inspiration of his practical 
ethics. This rare combination of the mystic and social teacher is 
due to Paul's personality and training. His peculiar type of mind 
and his unique psychological experiences made him a mystic. The 
apocalyptic tendencies of contemporary Pharisaism undoubtedly in- 
tensified this tendency. On the other hand, his early study of the 
Jewish law forever fixed in his mind the practical, social concept of 
religion. This precipitate remained long after he had rejected the 
ceremonial side of the law. This tendency was strengthened by his 
study of the ethical prophets and by his knowledge of the practical 
problems that were constantly arising in the lives of the Christians 
who looked to him for pastoral guidance. 

II. Paul's Reassertion of Jesus' Social Teachings. The 
great force, however, which made Paul a strong social teacher was his 
familiarity with Jesus' social teachings. Paul was intensely interested 
in his own theories about Jesus; but it was in the field of practical 
social ethics that the great apostle stands closest to his Master. That 
this should be true was natural, for the heart of Jesus' teachings was 
ethical and social. Evidently Paul had a more extensive and intimate 
knowledge of these teachings than is generally recognized. His oppor- 
tunities for gaining this knowledge were many, for he came into intimate 
and repeated contact with the disciples of Jesus while the first im- 
pression of their Master's work and teachings were still upon them. 
Evidently Paul also had in certain respects a more extensive acquain- 
tance with certain of Jesus' teachings than is reflected in our gospel 
records. This fact is obscured, however, by Paul's peculiar method of 
quoting. Even his direct citations from the Old Testament are rarely 
reproduced with absolute accuracy. It was more natural for him to 
paraphrase and interpret than to quote verbatim. Ordinarily he did 

195 



PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

not believe it necessary to state that he was reproducing Jesus' teach- 
ings, for he assumed that practically all that he proclaimed was based 
on those teachings. Also he felt the living spirit of Jesus working in 
his mind and prompting his every word. It was only when he was in 
doubt as to whether or not he was reproducing his Master's teachings, 
as in I Corinthians 7, that he plainly states this fact. Hence, there 
are good grounds for believing that in the field of social ethics Paul is 
simply interpreting Jesus' teachings and that he has thus preserved 
certain elements not found in our four gospels. This conclusion is 
strongly confirmed by a careful examination of Romans 12 and 13, 
where in a majority of the cases the underlying principle can be di- 
rectly traced to the lips of Jesus. 

III. Paul's Restatement of Jesus' Social Ideal. Paul, like 
Jesus, began not with organized society but with the individual, and 
sought to develop socially minded citizens as the foundation for an ideal 
social order. Like his Master, he dealt primarily not with external 
acts, but with inner motives. He recognized that the individual must 
first be socially redeemed, transformed, and consecrated to the service 
of God and society. His thoughts and character must be moulded, 
not only by circumstances and social conventions, but above all by 
loyalty to the will of God and to the interests of the Christian commu- 
nity. After he has made this complete self-sacrifice to the service of 
God and his Kingdom, it is easy for each man to find his own individual 
task in the church and in society and to perform it efficiently. In 
Paul's mind the perfect social order is the ''one body in Christ," of 
which all his faithful followers are members. It is unimportant that 
individual talents differ; the one essential is that each use his own for 
the largest profit of the community. Here, as in I Corinthians and 
Ephesians, he built on the foundations laid by Jesus in his parables 
regarding the Kingdom of God; but the details are determined by Paul's 
own personal experience. The Christian communities which he had 
founded had given him a vision of the perfect community, bound to- 
gether by the spirit and principles of Christ. In his vision he saw 
this ideal community growing and extending, even as the Christian 
church was then rapidly extending, until it included all mankind. 
Paul, in his loyal service to the local communities, which were the pro- 
totype of the all-embracing community of the saints to be estab- 
lished in the future, had himself attained personal salvation, liberty, 
and fulness of life. Therefore he pointed out to his fellow Christians 
the same sure and satisfying way of salvation and life. He declared 

196 



HIS RESTATEMENT OF JESUS' SOCIAL IDEAL 

by implication that, instead of losing their life, they also could find 
it through loyalty to the ideal of the perfect community and in work- 
ing for its establishment. In its glories each individual would attain 
the complete expression of his own highest aspirations; in its fellow- 
ship the full satisfaction of his social craving; in its service the 
development of his noblest gifts. This community of the socially re- 
deemed, which Paul called the ''Body of Christ," is not a mere mys- 
tical abstraction but a perfectly practical social ideal. In Paul's 
day each local Christian community gave to the individual Christian 
the field and the definite objective needed to develop his loyalty to 
the ideal community. Here, as always, Paul makes a complete and 
natural synthesis of the ideal and the practical. In so doing he has 
presented a working social programme as applicable to the needs of 
society to-day and in the future as it was in the first Christian cen- 
tury. 

IV. The Christian's Responsibility as a Member of Society» 
Jesus simply presented social principles; but Paul in his fervent zeal 
to develop efficient loyalty to the ideal community (which occupied 
the central place in his vision of the future) lays down many definite 
laws and commands. He also sets forth his specific social teachings 
in systematic order and in a most condensed yet forceful form. In 
Romans 12^-^^ he defines the Christian's responsibilities to the mem- 
bers of the Christian community. Verse ^* clearly belongs with the 
next section C^"^^), which describes the Christian's obligations to those 
outside the community. In 13^''^ he discusses the Christian's obH- 
gations to civil authorities. In verses ^'^^ he stresses the underlying 
and all-comprehending principle of love. Love is indeed the golden 
strand that runs through all of Paul's social teachings. He begins 
with the command, "Let love be without hypocrisy," and ends with 
the quotation, "Love is the fulfillment of the law." His social teach- 
ings as a whole are simply a practical, detailed application of the Golden 
Rule to the problems of the individual in his relation to society. Jesus' 
beatitude, "Happy are the peacemakers," becomes on the lips of 
Paul a definite command: "Think in harmony one with another." 
"Happy are the humble" and "Happy are the poor in spirit" are 
also transformed into the definite commands: "Strive not for the 
high things but associate with the humble" and "Do not be self -con- 
ceited." The Master's command, "Love your enemies," on the lips 
of Paul becomes, "Bless those who persecute you, bless and curse 
them not." Paul also concludes his recapitulation of the Christianas 

197 



PAUUS SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

responsibilities with the powerful, positive command: "Be not con- 
quered by evil, but conquer evil by doing good," which is a splendid 
summary of the principles which underlie both Jesus' social teachings 
and method. 

Throughout Paul's discussion of the Christian's obligations to or- 
ganized society we recognize the influence of Jesus' broad principle: 
** Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things 
that are God's." In the concluding sentence Paul quotes almost ver- 
batim the words of his Master, expanding them freely, however : "Render 
to all their dues, tribute to whom tribute is due, taxes to whom taxes, 
respect to whom respect and honor to whom honor is due." In his 
interpretation of Jesus' principle Paul shows the influence of his Ro- 
man citizenship, of his cosmopolitan training, and of his practical 
statesmanship. His assertion of the divine authority of rulers is in 
striking contrast with Jesus' rather contemptuous estimate of the 
men who play the tyrant over their subjects. The context implies 
that Paul had in mind simply those rulers who proved by their acts 
that they were "servants of God." His aim is evidently to deliver the 
Christians from conflict with the pagan authorities, but the working 
principles which he lays down are intensely practical through all 
ages. Nowhere can one find in such condensed form a more exact 
statement of a theory of government, of its obligations to the individual 
citizen, and of the duties of a citizen to the state. 

V. The Christian *s Duties of Toleration and Consideration 
for Others. It has been asserted that Paul's "outlook is almost 
devoid of social elements" and that the hope of the speedy second 
coming of Jesus destroyed his interest in society. Carried to its 
logical conclusion, this result would seem to a superficial reader in- 
evitable; but exactly the opposite effect is discernible. Instead of 
encouraging his converts to sit with idle hands awaiting the great 
consummation, which he, as an heir to the Jewish apocalyptic hopes, 
regarded as imminent, Paul encouraged them to discharge all their 
social obligations with the greatest care and consideration. His be- 
lief that the "night is far advanced and that the day is near" only 
intensified his social consciousness. The explanation is that he re- 
garded the Christian church already established and rapidly expand- 
ing as the foundation of the new world-wide community that was to 
be perfected at the second coming of Jesus. 

Paul's breadth is also revealed in the principles which he laid down 
regarding toleration toward others. The man of weak faith, whom he 

198 



TOLERATION AND CONSIDERATION FOR OTHERS 

had in mind, was the one Hmited by the conventional conceptions of 
religion. It was the type of man who regarded the observation of 
certain ritualistic forms and of days of feasting or fasting as abso- 
lutely essential. Evidently Paul himself did not share these beliefs; 
but he contended as earnestly for the liberty of personal judgment 
for the man with whom he did not agree as he did for his own. Each 
man, as he convincingly argues, is simply responsible to God. Here 
again it seems probable that Paul is standing squarely on principles 
proclaimed by Jesus and implied, though not recorded, in our gospels. 
It was this principle which determined the attitude of Jesus, as well as 
Paul, toward the ceremonial institutions of Judaism. Underlying 
Paul's command not to criticise nor look down upon a brother Christian 
one sees clearly Jesus' teaching: "Judge not that you be not judged." 
Also his command not to put a stumbling-block or hinderance in a 
brother's way is but Paul's free paraphrase of Jesus' words: "Woe to 
you who cause any of these little ones to stumble." With rare effec- 
tiveness and felicity Paul lays down the comprehensive Christian prin- 
ciple that the larger responsibility to show toleration and considera- 
tion to the brother of more limited vision rests upon the man of broader 
faith and outlook. He is the one who should be supremely governed 
by the law of love. The context also implies that the significant 
saying: 

The Kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, 
But of righteousness, peace, and joy, 

came directly from the lips of Jesus. 

VI. The Christian's Obligation to Men of All Races. In 

conclusion Paul suggests the Christian's larger missionary obhgations 
to the Gentile world. He presents this responsibility, not in the form 
of a direct command, but first by pointing out the fact that Jesus* 
work was done that Gentiles as well as Jews "might glorify God for 
his mercy." He then adds that his own primary aim as an apostle 
has been to bring the Gentiles into harmony viith God's purpose. He 
declares that his great ambition has been to preach the Gospel where 
before Christ's name had not been mentioned. Paul wisely leaves to 
each individual Christian the application of the principle so nobly 
illustrated by his own example and by that of his Master. 

Thus, Paul's teachings regarding the social responsibilities of each 
Christian may be briefly summarized under six heads: (1) To give him- 
self completely to the service of his divine Master. (2) To use each 

199 



PAUL'S SOCIAL TEACHINGS 

and all of his talents in behalf of "the body of Christ." (3) To show 
to his fellow citizens in this ideal commonwealth justice, love, consider- 
ation, and hospitality. (4) To regard all men of every shade of faith 
in the spirit of love and forgiveness and to serve them as opportmiity 
offers. (5) To pay to the state its dues and to respect and obey its 
rulers. (6) To extend to the Gentiles everywhere the hand of Chris- 
tian fellowship, to proclaim to them the Gospel of the Master, and by 
these means to attract them to the ranks of those who are loyally 
working for that perfect community which is ultimately to include 
all mankind. Thus, nobly and practically, in the concrete terms of 
love and loyalty and service, Paul interpreted Jesus' great social 
command to "seek first the Kingdom of God." 

§CLXn. PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 

Paul's When we had torn ourselves away from the presbjrters of 
voyage gphesus and had set sail, we ran m a straight course to 
mafs^' ^^^ » ^^ *^® ^®^* ^^y *^ Rhodes, and from there to Patera. 
(Acts Finding a ship bound for Phoenicia, we embarked and set 
"^^''^^ sail. After sighting Cyprus and leaving it on our left, we 
sailed for Syria and landed at Tyre, for there the ship was 
to unload her cargo. After we had searched out the dis- 
ciples, we remained there seven days. Certain of these 
disciples under the inspiration of the Spirit kept telling 
Paul not to set foot in Jerusalem; but when our time was up, 
we set out and went our way, escorted until we were out 
of the city by all of them, including women and children. 
Then kneeling on the beach we prayed and said good-bye 
to one another. While we went on board the ship, they re- 
turned home. Sailing from Tyre to Ptolemais, we com- 
pleted our voyage. Then after we had saluted the brothers, 
we spent one day with them. 
His ex- Setting out the next morning, we came to Caesarea and 
ence at entered the house of Philip, the evangeUst, who was one of 
Cffisa- the seven, and stayed with him. Now he had four tm- 
(8-i«) married daughters who prophesied. While we remained 
there many days a certain prophet by the name of Agabus 
came down from Judea. Coming to us, he took Paul's 
girdle and bound his own feet and hands, saying. Thus 
saith the Holy Spirit, * So shall the Jews bind the owner of 

200 



PAUL'S EXPERIENCE AT C^SAREA 

this girdle and hand him over to the Gentiles.' When we 
heard these words, we and those who dwelt at Csesarea be- 
sought Paul not to go up to Jerusalem; but Paul replied, 
What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? 
For I am ready not only to be boimd but to die in Jerusalem 
for the sake of the Lord Jesus. When he would not be 
persuaded, we ceased speaking, saying. May the Lord's 
will be done. 

After some days, we packed up our baggage and set out His 
for Jerusalem. And certain of the disciples from Caesarea at"^^^ 
accompanied us, conducting us to the house of a certain Je[u- 
Mnason, a native of Cyprus, one of the early disciples with l^^-^^ 
whom we were to lodge. When we arrived at Jerusalem 
the brothers received us gladly. 

On the next day Paul went with us to James. All the Recep- 
presbyters were present and, after saluting them, Paul told j^ru-^* 
in detail all that God had done through his ministry among saiem 
the Gentiles; and when they heard it they glorified God. 

They also said to him. Brother, you see how many tens of The 
thousands there are among the Jews who believe and that ^inciu- 
all of them zealously uphold the law. Now they have been f^^^^ 
told that you teach all Jews who live among tiie Gentiles (^Zx) 
to break away from Moses and that you tell them not to 
circmncise their children and not to foUow the old customs. 
What now is to be done ? They are sure to hear that you 
have arrived, therefore do what we say. We have four 
men here who have taken a vow upon themselves. As- 
sociate with them, purify yourself wilii them, and pay their 
expenses that they may shave their heads and all will 
know that there is no foundation for the stories about you 
but that you are orthodox and that you yourself keep the 
law. As for the Gentile believers, we have communicated 
to them our decision that they must abstain from those 
things which have been offered to idols, from blood, from 
the flesh of animals which have been strangled and from 
sexual vice. Then Paul associated himself with the men 
the next day, was purified along with them, and went into 
the temple, announcing when the days of purification would 
be completed, that is, when sacrifice could be offered for 
each of them. 

201 



PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 

Paul's But when the seven days were ahnost over, certain Jews 
hy^iSe from the province of Asia, seeing Paul in the temple, stirred 
^Ojb up all the crowd and laid hands on him, shouting. Men of 
Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men every- 
where against the Jewish people and the law and this 
place. And besides he has even brought Greeks into the 
temple and desecrated this holy place. (For they had 
previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the 
city whom they supposed Paul had taken into the temple.) 
The whole city was aroused and the people rushed to- 
gether and seized Paul and dragged him outside the temple, 
and immediately the gates were closed. 
His But while the people were seeking to kill Paul, word 

erance Came to the commaudor of the garrison that all Jerusalem 
Roman ^^^ "^ coufusion. Immediately taking some soldiers and 
com- officers, he rushed down to them. But when they saw the 
^i^«f®^ commander and the soldiers they ceased beating Paul. 
22")' Then the commander drew near and arrested hhn and 
ordered him to be bound with two chains. And he in- 
quired. Who is he and what has he done ? Some of the 
crowd shouted one thing, some another; but when he could 
not learn the exact truth on accoimt of the uproar, he 
ordered Paul to be led into the barracks. But when Paul 
was at the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers on 
account of the violence of the crowd, for the whole multi- 
tude of the people followed shouting, Away with him ! Just 
as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to 
the commander. May I say something to you ? The com- 
mander repUed, Do you know Greek ? Then you are not 
the Egyptian who in former days stirred up the four thou- 
sand Assassins and led them out into the desert ? Paul 
repUed, I am a Jew, a native of Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen 
of no insignificant city. I beg you, permit me to speak to 
the people. And as the commander gave permission, Paul 
stood on the steps and motioned with his hands to the 
people; and when there was perfect silence he addressed 
them in Hebrew, telling them of his vision on the way to 
Damascus and how the Lord said to him. Go, for I send you 
afar to the Gentiles. 
Until he had said this the people had listened to Paul, 

202 



PAUL'S SCOURGING 

but now they raised a great outcry saying, Away with such scourg- 
a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live! They jj|f^. 
shouted and threw their clothes into the air and flung dust stjga- 
about until the commander ordered Paul to be led into the o?the 
barracks and to be examined under the lash in order to (22«- 
ascertain the reason why the people had shouted at him. ") 
But when they had tied him up with straps, Paul said to 
the officer who was standing by, Are you permitted to 
scourge a Roman citizen, and that without trial? When 
the officer heard this he went to report the matter to the 
commander, saying. What is this you are about to do ? For 
this man is a Roman citizen. Then the commander went to 
him and said. Tell me, are you a Roman citizen ? And he 
answered. Yes. Then the commander replied, I paid a 
large sum for this citizenship. But I was bom a Roman 
citizen, said Paul. Then the men who were about to ex- 
amine him immediately left him. The commander also 
was alarmed when he learned that Paul was a Roman 
citizen and that he had bound him. 

The next day the commander, wishing to know exactly Paul's 
what charge was brought against Paul by the Jews, unbound before® 
him and ordered the high priests and all the Sanhedrin to |^e 
assemble. Then bringing Paul down, he made him stand hedrin 
before them. Whereupon, Paul looking straight at the ^3?)"" 
Sanhedrin, said. Brothers, I have lived before God with a 
perfectly good conscience up to this day. Then the high 
priest Ananias ordered those who were standing near Paul 
to strike him on the mouth. Paul said to him. You white- 
washed wall, God will strike you ! Do you sit there to judge 
me according to the law while you yourself break the law 
by ordering me to be struck ? But those who were stand- 
ing by said. Would you rail at God's high priest? Paul 
said. Brothers, I did not know that he was a high priest 
(for it is written, * Thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of 
thy people *). 

Then Paul, knowing that part of the Sanhedrin con- 
sisted of Sadducees and the other part of Pharisees, shouted 
to them, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees. 
For the hope of the resurrection of the dead I am on trial! 
When he said this, there was a quarrel between the Phari- 

203 



(6-10) 



Vision 



PAULAS LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 

The sees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 
bi^mi For while the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection 
1^ nor angel nor spirit, the Pharisees acknowledge all these 
ducees things; hence there was a great uproar. And some of 
phtri^^ the scribes, who belonged to the party of the Pharisees, 
arose and contended, We find no harm in this man. What 
if some spirit or angel has spoken to him? When the 
quarrel became so violent that the commander feared 
that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, he ordered the 
troops to go down and take him from their midst by force 
and bring him into the barracks. 
Pavd;s On the following night the Lord stood by Paul and said, 
Be of good courage, for as you have borne witness to me at 
Jerusalem so you must bear witness also at Rome. 
The Now when daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy 

g{g*jj^ and solemnly swore not to eat or drink until they had killed 
(12-X5) Paul. Those who boimd themselves by this oath were 
more than forty in all. Going to the high priests and 
elders they said. We have bound ourselves by a solemn 
oath not to taste anything until we have killed Paul. Now 
you, together with the Sanhedrin, must make it appear to 
the commander that you wish him to bring Paul down to you 
because you wish to investigate more minutely the charges 
brought against him. We will be ready to kill him before 
he comes near this place. 
The But PauPs nephew heard of the treacherous ambush and 

dosure gained admission to the barracks and informed Paul. Then 
^{q*^® Paul called one of the officers and said, Take this young man 
(16-21.) to the commander for he has some information to give him. 
Accordingly the officer took and brought him to the com- 
mander and said, Paul the prisoner called me and asked me 
if I would bring this young man to you for he has something 
to say to you. Then the commander took him aside by the 
hand and inquired of him in private. What is the informa- 
tion you have to give me ? He said. The Jews have agreed 
to ask you to bring Paul to-morrow down to the Sanhedrin 
for the avowed purpose of examining his case in detail. 
Now do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of 
them are lying in wait for him. 
Then the commander sent away the yoimg man, enjoin- 

204 



(22-2S«) 



(ai-u) 



PAUL AT CiESAREA 

ing him to * tell no one that you informed me of these things.' Paui 
He then summoned two of the officers and said, Make c£si° 
ready two hundred infantry, seventy horsemen, and two 
hundred spearmen by nine o'clock to-night to march as 
far as Caesarea. Provide horses also to mount Paul so as 
to bring him safely to Felix the governor. He also wrote 
a letter to Felix. 

The soldiers, therefore, according to their instructions, Arrival 
took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the csesa- 
next day the infantry returned to the barracks, leaving the 
cavalry to go on with him. When they reached Csesarea, 
they deUvered the letter to the governor and also brought 
Paul to him. When he had read the letter, Felix asked 
from what province he was, and learning that it was CiHcia 
he said, I will hear all about your case whenever your ac- 
cusers arrive. And he gave orders that Paul be kept in the 
pretorimn of Herod. 

I. The Record of Paul's Journey to Jerusalem and Rome. 

When Paul set out on his final journey to Jerusalem, the intermittent 
stream of narrative in Acts suddenly broadens, giving us a detailed 
picture of Paul's pubHc activity. Fully one-fourth of the book of 
Acts is devoted to these journeys which finally led him to Rome. 
Only regarding Paul's two years' imprisonment at Csesarea the narra- 
tive suddenly becomes silent. Two reasons probably explain this 
striking literary phenomenon. With the exception of the two years at 
Csesarea, Luke was evidently drawing from his own personal experi- 
ence and observation. Throughout most of this narrative he speaks 
in the first person plural. As has already been noted, the evidence is 
practically conclusive that Luke himself is the author of this journal 
of travel and that, even where he does not use the first person, he is 
in close personal touch with the facts. The second reason is because 
of the nature of the material here presented. Two of Luke's most 
important contentions are: (1) that practically all the opposition to 
Christianity came from the Jews, and (2) that the early attitude of 
the Roman officials toward Christianity was not only friendly but 
protective. It is probably under the influence of this motive that 
Luke has reproduced and expanded the speeches of Paul and the 
Roman ofiicials and introduced even the supposed text of the letter 
sent by the Roman governor of Jerusalem to Felix, the procurator of 

205 



PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 

Judea. He also aimed to say as little as possible about the heart- 
bums and bitternesses of the past. Luke's concentration on these 
definite aims alone explains his silence regarding the real object of 
Paul's visit to Jerusalem and the realization of the apostle's great 
ambition. 

IL Paul's Reasons for Revisiting Jerusalem. The narrative 
of Acts indicates clearly that Paul went up to Jerusalem in direct op- 
position to the earnest warnings of his friends. They knew well the 
bitterness of the opposition which he would meet in that centre of 
Judaism. The account of the warning of Agabus, who had just come 
from Judea and was therefore in close touch with conditions there, 
indicates that the old type of Hebrew prophet still survived in the 
Christian church. For the "Thus saith Jehovah" is substituted the 
equally impressive phrase ''Thus saith the Holy Spirit." The over- 
mastering conviction that incites him to speak is evidently akin in 
every respect to that which in earlier days drew Amos from his flock 
and impelled him to speak before the assembled multitudes at the 
great sanctuary in Bethel. The methods whereby Agabus impressed 
his message upon Paul also recall the dramatic object-lessons wliich 
Ezekiel used to convince his irresolute countrymen. But neither the 
warnings of the Christian prophets nor Paul's own knowledge of the 
perils which confronted him at Jerusalem deterred him. What were 
the reasons which thus impelled him onward? The first was evi- 
dently his feeling that he must fulfil the parting injunction of the 
pillar apostles in their last interview at Jerusalem, when they urged 
him to remember the poor at Jerusalem. He also felt a deep obliga- 
tion to discharge the trust placed in his hands by the Gentile churches 
and to deliver at Jerusalem in person the funds intrusted to his care. 
More important still, Paul desired in the presence of the mother church 
to vindicate his work among the Gentiles. He plainly declares this 
purpose in the conclusion of his letter to the Roman Christians: "Pray 
that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and also that 
my mission to Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints." Above 
all, Paul ardently hoped by this visit to establish the unity of the 
"Body of Christ." This achievement he hoped to make the crown of 
his life-work. All the influences of his Jewish inheritance led him to 
crave the approval and fellowship of his Jewish Christian brothers. 
If he could win these, all the bitterness of the Judaistic controversies 
would be but easily forgotten memories, and the Christian church 
would be in a position to face the Graeco-Roman world with unbroken 

206 



PAUUS REASONS FOR REVISITING JERUSALEM 

front. It was, therefore, as the first great apostle of Christian unity 
that Paul undertook this perilous adventure. 

III. Paul's Reception at Jerusalem. The narrative of Acts 
indicates that Paul's reception by the leaders of the Jerusalem church 
was on the whole friendly, but it is ominously silent regarding the way 
in which they received the contributions of the Gentile churches. 
They were still chiefly concerned about Paul's attitude toward the 
Jewish law. It is evident that they were unable to rise above their 
intense Jewish environment. It is probable that already the storm 
of Jewish persecution was rising, which resulted a few years later in 
the death of James, the brother of Jesus, and in the scattering of the 
Jerusalem church. Even the optimistic Luke gives the impression 
that within the Christian brotherhood Paul met with bitter disap- 
pointment. While the leaders shared with him the joy inspired by his 
marvellous achievements in Gentile lands, they were unable to shake 
off their immediate fears. Their chief concern was still about his at- 
titude toward the Jewish law. Was his action, as reported, in avowing 
publicly his personal loyalty to the Jewish law inconsistent with his 
earlier teachings and practices? It was certainly consistent with his 
avowed principle "of becoming like the Jews to win over the Jews 
and as one of themselves to those under the law." Moreover, his chief 
contention had been that the Jewish law was not binding on any 
Christians except as they freely chose to keep it in order not to offend 
the *'weak." Against the action of the Jewish Christians, who con- 
tinued for conscientious reasons to observe the laws of their fathers, he 
was the last to raise a voice of protest. The impression that he was 
opposed to the Mosaic law itself was also wrong. In the circum- 
stances he probably felt amply justified, in order to remove false im- 
pressions, in associating with four poor men who had taken a vow and 
in defraying the expense of the sacrifices demanded by the Jewish ritual. 

IV. The Jewish Attack. Paul's action probably satisfied the 
Jewish Christians, but in the end it proved disastrous. His presence 
in the temple aroused the smouldering antagonism of certain of the 
visiting Jews from the province of Asia, who had probably come into 
hostile contact with Paul during his long and strenuous ministry at 
Ephesus. The memory that Paul had earlier brought Titus, a Greek 
Christian, to Jerusalem, may still have lingered in the popular mind. 
If so, it tended to give credence to the charge of the Ephesian Jews 
that Paul had taken another Gentile Christian, Trophimus of Ephesus 
(who had journeyed to Jerusalem with Paul) into the sacred temple 

207 



PAUL'S LAST JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM 

precincts. According to the Jewish law, confirmed by the tablets 
set up by Herod about the enclosure which shut in the inner courts 
of the temple, this was a capital offense. The charge was undoubtedly 
false, but it was sufficient to inflame the mind of the fanatical mob. 
The Romans were ordinarily inclined to support the Jewish law, but 
the Jews in their fury evidently intended to take justice in their own 
hands and to slay Paul on the charge of impiety. Uprisings of this 
character, even in the temple courts at this period, were evidently 
common, and the Roman guards, stationed at the tower of Antonia on 
the northwestern side of the temple area, were ever on the alert to put 
down an uprising. Their timely interference alone saved Paul's life. 
As ever in face of danger, he was cool and alert. It was characteristic 
of Paul to face the mob and to improve the dramatic opportunity 
thus offered to preach the faith for which he was ready to die. The 
variations in the account of his conversions indicate that the details of 
the speech here attributed to him are not the result of the verbatim 
report, for which the occasion offered no opportunity, but of Luke's 
tendency to present vividly and concretely the spirit and thought of 
the characters who figure in his narrative. Even in the hands of the 
Roman soldiers, Paul again proved himself master of the situation. 
Emperors like Augustus and Tiberius, keenly interested in the welfare 
of the provinces, had taught the Roman provincial officials to beware 
lest they misuse their power. Paul's assertions that he was a Roman 
citizen not only saved him from scourging but also insured him a fair 
hearing. Before the Roman official could take action, Paul, because of 
the nature of the charge brought against him, must be tried and con- 
demned by the supreme Jewish court, the Sanhedrin. According to 
Luke's account, Paul, knowing well the constitution of this unique 
assembly, precipitated a dispute among its members which again 
brought in the Roman troops. The futility of the charge brought 
against Paul was evidently recognized by his bitterest foes. Baffled 
in their attempt to put an end to him at the hands of the mob, they 
formed a conspiracy to kill him secretly. Fortunately for Paul, he had 
Jewish kinsmen at Jerusalem, who revealed this plot to him. His ability 
and Roman citizenship had evidently made a deep impression upon the 
Roman commander, so that almost as a royal prisoner Paul was sent 
to Felix, the governor of Judea, whose official residence was at Caesarea. 
V. The Results of PauVs Visit to Jerusalem. Unfortunately, 
the details in Luke's account of Paul's visit to Jerusalem have ob- 
scured the main issue. Was his mission successful? Did the Jeni- 

208 



THE RESULTS OF PAUL'S VISIT 

salem church accept the contributions of the Gentile Christians and 
in so doing cement the bond between the two branches of the Chris- 
tian church? Whatever be the answer, the significant fact is estab- 
lished that Paul, who most nobly interpreted the spirit of Jesus, was 
such an ardent advocate of Christian unity that he was quite ready, 
if necessary, to die for this cause. The facts themselves are fugitive. 
Luke's narrative leaves us to infer that Paul's mission to Jerusalem 
was successful. Possibly there were details which Luke deemed 
best to omit. Early Christian tradition asserts that Luke himself 
was the one whom Paul describes in II Corinthians 8^^"^^ as "the 
brother who is praised by all the churches because of his services for 
the Gospel, and not only so, but who has been appointed by the churches 
to travel with us in charge of this contribution which we are admin- 
istering for the glory of the Lord. His appointment was also in ac- 
cord with our desire, for we want to take precaution lest any one should 
find fault with us regarding the administration of this charity, for we 
aim to do those things which are honorable, not only in the sight of 
God, but also in the sight of men." That Luke accompanied Paul to 
Jerusalem is clear. He appears also to have returned to Syria after 
the apostle's long imprisonment, for he was present to accompany him 
on his journey to Rome. It is strange that Luke says nothing in Acts 
concerning the reahzation of Paul's ardent hope that *'his mission to 
Jerusalem might prove acceptable to the saints." Luke's account 
leaves us to infer that it was acceptable and that Paul's public proof 
of his personal regard for the Jewish law was one of the conditions 
under which they accepted it. If so, further light is thrown upon his 
reasons for submitting to what must to many of his friends have been 
regarded as a compromise. Possibly at the suggestion of the Jeru- 
salem apostles part of the contributions from the Gentile churches 
was used to defray the expenses of the four Jewish Christians, who 
were thus enabled to fulfil their vows. Certainly Paul's later letters, 
and especially Philippians and Ephesians, resound with thanksgiving 
because the unity of the church of Christ had been established and 
the barriers, which had kept Gentile and Jew apart, had been removed. 
To the Gentiles of Asia Minor he writes (Eph. 2^^-^^) : "You are no longer 
strangers and foreigners, you share the membership of the saints, you 
belong to God's own household, you are a building which rests on the 
apostles and prophets as its foundation, with Jesus Christ as the 
corner-stone. In him the whole structure is welded together and rises 
into a sacred temple in the Lord." 

209 



CLXm. THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 



Paul's 
im- 
peacli- 
ment 

(Acts 
241-9) 



Paul's 
prot- 
.esta- 
tion of 
inno- 
cence 

(10-21) 



Five days after Paul arrived at Caesarea the high priest, 
Ananias, came down with some elders and an orator called 
TertuUus. They laid the case against Paul before the 
governor. After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus be- 
gan to accuse him, saying. Inasmuch as it is owing to you, 
most excellent Felix, that we enjoy perfect peace and as 
it is through your wise provision that evils are corrected in 
this nation in every instance and in every place, we accept 
these with profound gratitude. But in order that I may 
not detain you too long, I beg you in your forbearance to 
hear a brief statement from us. For we have foimd this 
man Paul a pest and a disturber of the peace among all the 
Jews throughout the world and a ringleader of the Nazarene 
sect. He even tried to desecrate the temple, but we ar- 
rested him. By examining him yourself you will be able 
to find out about all these charges which we allege against 
him. The Jews also joined in the attack, declaring that 
these things were so. 

Then at a signal from the governor, Paul made his reply: 
Knowing that you have administered justice in this nation 
for many years, I willingly make my defense, because, as 
you are able to ascertain, it is not more than twelve days 
since I went up to worship at Jerusalem. They neither 
found me arguing with any one in the temple nor stirring 
up a crowd either in the synagogues or in the city. They 
cannot prove the charges which they are now bringing 
against me. But this I confess to you that in the way, 
which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, 
and I believe all that is written in the law and the prophets 
and I hold the same hope in God as they themselves enter- 
tain, that there is to be a resurrection of the just and the 
unjust. Therefore, I too am under obligation at all times 
to have a clear conscience before God and man. After 
several years I came up to bring alms and sacrifices for my 
nation. They found me while doing this in the temple, 
ceremonially pure and mixed up in no mob nor riot; but 
there were certain Jews from Asia who ought to be here 

210 



PAUUS PROTESTATION OF INNOCENCE 

before you to present whatever charge they may have 
against me. Or let those men there tell what fault they 
foimd in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin, unless it 
be that single sentence which I uttered when I shouted as 
I stood among them, * It is for the resurrection of the dead 
that I am being tried to-day before you.' 

But Felix, being accurately informed regarding the way, Felix's 
adjourned their case, saying to them. When Lysias the com- rSSd^ 
mander comes down, I will decide your case. He also gave ^s 
orders to the officer to hold him in custody and to allow him («. ^) 
some Uberty and not to prevent his own friends from min- 
istering to him. 

Some days later, Felix came with Drusilla his wife, who Feiixs 
was a Jewess, and sent for Paul and heard him speak re- of^^ 
garding faith in Christ Jesus. But when he argued about ^^^'^ 
justice, self-control, and future judgment, FeUx became ("-") 
alarmed and repUed, You may go for the present and when 
I find a convenient time I will send for you, though he hoped 
at the same time that Paul would give him money. For 
this reason he sent for him frequently and conversed with 
him. But when two full years had passed, Felix was suc- 
ceeded by Porcius Festus. And as Felix wished to in- 
gratiate himself with the Jews, he left Paul in custody. 

Now three days after Festus entered the province he The 
went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Then the high pSt 
priests and the leading Jews brought a charge against Paul f^^^ 
and begged Festus as a favor to send and have him brought (25i-fi») 
to Jerusalem, for they were planning an ambush to kill him 
on the way. But Festus replied that Paul was in custody 
in Caesarea and that he himself was about to go there in a 
short time. Therefore, he said, let those of you who are 
able go down with me and charge the man with whatever 
crime he has committed. After staying eight or ten days 
in Jerusalem he went down to Caesarea. 

The next day Festus took his seat on the tribunal and PauTs 
ordered Paul to be brought in. When he arrived, the Jews 
who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him and 
brought many and grave charges against him which they 
were imable to prove. Paul said in reply, I have committed 
no offense against the Jewish law or the temple or Caesar. 

211 



defense 
) 



THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 

Paul's But Festus, wishing to win favor with the Jews, asked 
to thi Paul, Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and be tried 
pSor there before me regarding these charges? Paul said, 
(» 1^) I am standing before Caesar's tribunal, where I ought to 
be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also 
know perfectly well. If, however, I have done wrong and 
have done anj^hing worthy of death I do not object to dy- 
ing. But if these men have brought no real charges against 
me, then no one has a right to favor them by giving me up 
to them. I appeal to Caesar! Then after conferring with 
the council, Festus answered. You have appealed to Caesar, 
to Caesar you shall go. 
Paul After some days had passed. King Agrippa and Bemice 

aS?- came down to Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 
Pf „_ And since they were spending many days there, Festus 
^) laid PauPs case before the king. So on the next day 
Agrippa and Bemice came with much pomp and entered 
the audience hall, accompanied by the military com- 
manders and by the chief men of the city. Then at the 
command of Festus Paul was brought in. 
Pauls Thereupon, Agrippa said to Paul, You have permission to 
before^ speak in your own behalf. At this, Paul, stretching out 
Agrip- j^s hand, began his defense: I consider myself fortunate, 
(261-1. King Agrippa, in being able this day to defend myself before 
you against all the accusations with which I am charged by 
the Jews, for you are exceedingly well informed regarding 
all the Jewish customs and questions. Therefore, I beg of 
you hear me patiently. All the Jews know the kind of life 
I Uved from my youth upwards among my nation and in 
Jerusalem. . . . Now to this day I have had the help of 
God and have stood firm, testifying to small and great, 
never saying a single word beyond what the prophets and 
Moses said would take place, namely, that the Christ was 
to suffer and be the first to rise from the dead and proclaim 
a message of light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles. 
The When Paul thus made his defense, Festus said in a loud 

of^"^ voice, Paul, you are stark mad ! Your great learning is 
Festus driving you insane ! But Paul said, I am not mad, most 
Agrip- noble Festus, but I am speaking words of truth and sober- 
(M-«) ness. For the king to whom I can speak freely, knows 

212 



23) 



PAUUS REPLY TO KING AGRIPPA 

about these things. Indeed, I cannot but believe that no 
detail has escaped his notice, for this thing was not done in 
a comer. King Agrippa, do you not believe the prophets? 
I know that you do. But Agrippa said to Paul, Li a short 
time you will beUeve that you have made a Christian of me ! 
Paul replied. Long or short, I pray to God that not only 
you but also all my hearers this day may be such as I am, 
excepting these chains. 

Then the king arose with the governor and Bemice and Decia- 
those who had been sitting with them and withdrew to dis- 0?^°^ 
cuss the matter with one another. And they said. This ?aui's 
man has done nothing deserving of death or imprison- SSce 
ment. Agrippa also said to Festus, This man might have ^'"''^ 
been released if he had not appealed to Caesar. 

Now when it was decided tiiat we were to sail for Italy, inci- 
they handed over Paul and certain other prisoners to an of^^e 
oflBlcer of the imperial regiment named JuUus. Then y^J^^^® 
going on board of a ship of Adramyttium, which was bound 
to the seaports of the province of Asia, we set sail, having 
with us Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica. 
On the next day we put in at Sidon, where Julius treated 
Paul very kindly and allowed him to visit his friends and to 
avail himself of their generous care. Putting to sea from 
there, we sailed under the lee of Cj^rus, because the 
wind was against us. Then, after sailing the whole length 
of the sea which Hes off Cilicia and Pamphyha, we came to 
Myrei in Lycia. There the officer found an Alexandrian 
ship bound for Italy and put us on board of her. For a 
niunber of days we made slow progress and came with 
great difficulty off Cnidus. Then, as the wind did not al- 
low us to go on, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite 
Cape Salome, and coasting along with difficulty we reached 
a place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. 

Inasmuch as our voyage had taken considerable time paui's 
and the sailing had become dangerous, and the autumn ^^| 
fast was already over, Paul warned them saying, Men, I majors 
perceive that this voyage will be attended with danger and 
much loss not only to &e cargo and the ship but to our own 
lives. The officer, however, let himself be persuaded by 
the captain and the owner of the ship rather than by the 

213 



THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 

things which Paul said. And as the harbor was incon- 
venient for wintering in, the majority advised putting to 
sea to try to reach Phoenix, a Cretan harbor facing southwest 
and nortiiwest, in order to winter there. 
The When a light southerly breeze spnmg up, they thought 

(u^2^ that they had secured their object. After weighing an- 
chor they ran close along the coast of Crete ; but it was not 
long before a tempestuous wind called Euroklydon rushed 
down. The ship was caught and was not able to face the 
wind; so we gave up and let it drive. Then we ran along 
the lee of a little island called Cauda, where we managed 
with great difficulty to secure the ship's boat. After hoist- 
ing it on board, they used ropes to imdergird the ship. 
Fearing lest they should be stranded on the Syrtis quick- 
sands, they lowered the sail and lay to. But as we were 
being terribly battered by the storm, they began to lighten 
the Slip the next day, and on the third day they threw the 
ship's tackle overboard with their own hands. Then for 
many days, neither sun nor stars were seen and a heavy 
gale still raged so that at last all hope of our being saved 
was taken away. 
Pauls Now when they had gone a long time without food, Paul 
of'en- stood forth in their midst and said. Men, you should have 
cour- listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thus 
mSt spared yourself this hardship and loss. But now I bid you 
<"•'') have courage, for there will be no loss of life, only of the 
ship, for last night an angel of the God to whom I belong 
and whom I serve, stood beside me and said, * Fear not, 
Paul, for you must stand before Caesar. Behold also, God 
hath granted you the lives of all those who are sailing with 
you.' Therefore, have courage, men ! For I believe God 
and that it will be just as I have been told. But we are to 
be stranded on a certain island. 
Ap- It was now the fourteenth night and we were drifting 

toiand through the Sea of Adria, when the sailors in the middle of 
("-»») the night suspected that land was near. And when they 
cast the lead, they found twenty fathoms of water and a 
little further, when they cast the lead, they found fifteen. 
Then, fearing lest we should be stranded on the rocks, 
they threw out four anchors from the stem and longed for 

214 



counsel 

(33-36) 



PAUL'S SHIPWRECK 

the day. The sailors were laying to escape from the ship 
and had even lowered the boat in the sea, pretending that 
they were going to lay out anchors from the bow, when 
Paul said to the officers and the soldiers, Unless these men 
stay in the ship you cannot be saved. Then the soldiers 
cut away the ropes of the boat and let her fall off. 

Just before daybreak, Paul begged them all to take some Pauls 
food, saying. To-day is the fourteenth day that you have ' 

been anxiously watching and fasting without taMng food. 
Therefore I beg of you take some food, for this wOl keep 
you ahve; indeed, not one hair of your heads will perish. 
After he had said these words, he took a loaf and, after 
giving thanks to God, he broke and began to eat it in the 
presence of them all. Then they were all encouraged and 
they themselves took food. There were about seventy- 
six souls of us on board. And when they had eaten enough, 
they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat into the sea. 

When it was day, they could not recognize what land it The 
was ; but they noticed a certain inlet with a sandy beach on ^^^ 
which they planned if possible to run the ship ashore. So ("-"*) 
cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea. At 
the same time unloosing the ropes which tied the rudders 
and hoisting the foresaU to the wind, they made for the 
beach. Coming to a place where two seas met, they 
stranded the ship. The prow, sticking fast, remained im- 
movable, but the stem began to go to pieces on account 
of the beating of the waves. Then the soldiers cotmselled 
that they should kill the prisoners lest some one of them 
might swim ashore and escape. But the officer, desiring 
to save Paul, prevented them from carrjdng out their plan 
and commanded that those who were able to swim should 
jxmip overboard first and get to land and that the rest should 
follow, some on planks and the others on pieces of wreck- 
age. Thus, they all got safely to land. 

Now, after we had escaped, we found that the island was Paui's 
called Malta. The rude natives showed us more than or- eS?l^" 
dinary kindness, for they lighted a fire and welcomed us j^th 
all because of the pouring rain and the cold. Now, when yiper 
Paul had gathered a bimdle of sticks and put them on the 
fire, a viper driven forth by the heat fastened itself on his 

215 



(281-6) 



THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 

hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from 

his hand, they said to one another, Undoubtedly this man 

is a murderer ! Though he has escaped from the sea, 

justice will not let him Uve. He, however, shook off the 

creature into the fire and suffered no harm. But the natives 

waited for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead; but 

after waiting a long time and seeing that no harm came to 

him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god. 

Paul's In the same part of the island there was an estate belong- 

heaung i^g to the govemor, whose name was Publius. He wel- 

('-") comed us and entertained us most hospitably for three days. 

Now it happened that the father of Publius was l5dng ill of 

fever and dysentery; so Paul went in to see him and after 

he had prayed, laid his hands on him and cured him. When 

this had happened, the other sick people in the island also 

came and were cured. Moreover, they loaded us with 

many honors and when we set sail they provided us with 

all those things which we needed. 

Voyage After three months we set sail in an Alexandrian ship 

puteoii called The Twin Brothers, which had wintered in the is- 

("■") land. And touching at Sjrracuse, we remained there three 

days. Then tacking around we reached Rhegivun. A day 

later a south wind sprang up and we arrived the second day 

at Puteoii where we found Christian brothers and were 

urged to spend a week with them. 

Paul at Thus, we reached Rome. From thence, brothers who 

fi^^^ had heard about us, came out to meet us as far as the 

»o. ji) Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns. And when Paul 

saw them, he thanked God and took coiu-age. When we 

finally reached Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself 

with a soldier to guard him. For two entire years he lived 

in his own hired house, receiving all who came to him, 

preaching the Kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord 

Jesus Christ, quite openly and without hindrance. 

I. Paul's Imprisonment under Felix. Paul's transfer from 
Jerusalem to Caesarea delivered him from assassination at the hands 
of the Jews but brought him under the power of Felix, one of the most 
unprincipled of the Roman procurators who ruled during this period 
over the troubled province of Judea. Like liis brother Pallas, Felix 

216 



PAUL'S IMPRISONMENT UNDER FELIX 

was probably once a slave of Antonia, the mother of the emperor 
Claudius. The conservative Roman historian Tacitus thus tersely 
describes him: "He exercised the prerogative of a king in the spirit 
of a slave, with superlative cruelty and licentiousness" (5^). His 
rule, as procurator, was in keeping with his character. He so exas- 
perated his Jewish subjects that the Zealots and the Sicarii, the Nihil- 
ists of that period, fomented a series of rebellions which were merci- 
lessly repressed by Felix. Popular messiahs, some of them secretly 
in league with Felix, also kindled false hopes among the common 
people and gave him further opportunity for pillage and confiscation. 
The statement, therefore, that Felix kept Paul in prison for two years, 
hoping to extract from him a bribe, is in perfect keeping with the 
character of this former slave, who by a turn of the wheel of fortune 
had been received into the imperial circle and had married, first a 
daughter of Mark Anthony and Cleopatra, and later Drusilla, the 
daughter of Herod Agrippa I. 

The account of Paul's trial before Felix is probably based on Luke's 
memory of the event. The flattering words addressed to Felix by the 
orator, Tertullus, were well calculated to win a favorable hearing, but 
they were a parody upon the facts. In declaring that Paul was a 
disturber of the peace, Tertullus appealed to Felix on a point in re- 
gard to which he was exceedingly sensitive. Paul's reply is a notable 
example of direct, powerful oratory and probably represents the main 
points in the great apostle's address. His Roman citizenship probably 
alone saved him from an adverse decision. Felix had heard from Paul's 
own Ups that his mission to Jerusalem was to bear funds from the Gen- 
tile churches. This fact was evidently the basis of his hope of securing 
a rich bribe. His mercenary purpose also explains the large degree of 
freedom which he granted to Paul. Instead of being incarcerated in a 
vile prison, the apostle was placed under the charge of a Roman mili- 
tary ofiicer and allowed considerable liberty. The narrative of Acts 
is largely silent regarding the details of these two years. For Paul, 
however, they were years of intense intellectual and literary activity. 
His later letters suggest that he continued his correspondence with 
the Western churches and directed his lieutenants. Luke's silence re- 
garding this period indicates that he returned to the Greek churches and 
possibly brought back at the end of the two years further contribu- 
tions for Paul's support. Csesarea was already one of the great in- 
tellectual centres of Syria, and Paul evidently improved the oppor- 
tunities which it offered for further study. There is evidence in his 

217 



THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 

later writing that during this period he read certain apocalyptic writ- 
ings such as the Assumption of Moses and an otherwise unknown 
writing which Epiphanius designates as the Apocalypse of Elias. 
Also in the light of Paul's later letters it is evident that his conceptions 
of Jesus and of the significance of his work still further developed dur- 
ing these years so rich in their opportunities for meditation. 

II. The Date of the Procuratorships of Felix and Festus. 
The rethement of Felix and the succession of Festus to the procurator- 
ship is one of the landmarks in New Testament chronology. Josephus 
states that **when Fortius Festus was sent to succeed Felix, the leading 
Jewish inhabitants of Csesarea went up to Rome to accuse Felix. 
He would certainly have been brought to punishment for his mis- 
deeds toward the Jews had not Nero yielded to the importunate solici- 
tations of Felix's brother, Pallas, whom he at that time held in the 
greatest honor." Tacitus in his Annals (13^^) states that Pallas fell 
from Nero's favor in the year 55 a.d. This definite statement would 
fiiX very closely the date of the beginning of the procuratorship of 
Festus, did not Tacitus also add in the same context that Pallas was 
later tried and acquitted by an unprincipled judge by the name of 
Psetus, although, "the approved innocence of Pallas did not please 
men so much as his arrogance offended them." It is possible that 
this reference means that Pallas was later restored to Nero's favor. 
His restoration, however, is only a possibility. It is, on the whole, 
more probable that Felix was retired and Festus entered upon his 
proconsulship as early as 55 or 56 a.d. 

III. Paul's Reasons for Appealing to Caesar. Festus appears, 
on the whole, to have been one of the best of the Roman procurators. 
He was unfamiliar, however, with Jewish institutions. The accession 
of a new procurator encouraged Paul's Jewish foes to believe that 
they might secure a verdict against him, for Festus was natm-ally eager 
to win the favor of the leaders of the nation. The narrative of Acts 
suggests that Festus suspected their demand that Paul be transferred 
for trial to Jerusalem, At the same time, as a Roman ruler intent 
upon restoring peace to the province which had been torn by dis- 
sensions and riots as a result of the unprincipled rule of Felix, Festus 
naturally looked with suspicion upon the prisoner Paul. He evidently 
regarded him as a religious fanatic and therefore one to be carefully 
watched. Festus's desire to please the Jews evidently so overruled 
his Roman sense of justice that he was inclined to yield to the de- 
mands of the high priest and transfer Paul's trial to Jerusalem. This 

218 



PAUL'S APPEAL TO CESAR 

decision left Paul in a most critical position. To go to Jerusalem was 
to face the danger of secret assassination and the probability of ulti- 
mate condemnation, for a man like Paul, whose activity had so often 
aroused the mob, was regarded by the Roman officials as a criminal, 
even though he be innocent of any evil intent. On the other hand, 
as we know from Paul's letter to the Romans, his chief passion at this 
time was to visit the imperial city. Hence his appeal to Caesar. As 
a Roman citizen he possessed the right of appeal and Festus had no 
valid grounds for refusing it. 

Paul's later examination before King Agrippa II, the son of Herod 
Agrippa I, was an unimportant episode, except that it reveals still 
further the heroic spirit of the great apostle and his zeal to improve 
every possible opportunity to proclaim the religion of his Master. 
It was evidently introduced by Luke as a further illustration of the 
fact that the Roman officials found nothing in the work of Paul worthy 
of condemnation. 

IV. The Story of His Shipwreck. The account of Paul's voy- 
age and shipwreck is one of the classical passages of the New Testa- 
ment. It gives us the most vivid picture in ancient literature of the 
life of the courageous mariners who defied in their little craft the 
perils of the sea. Most travellers bound from Palestine to Rome by 
the sea route embarked at Csesarea, Accho, or Tyre. The small ships 
which plied from these ports sailed close to the shores of Syria and 
Asia Minor. There their passengers often transshipped, as did Paul 
at Myra in southern Lycia, in one of the larger Alexandrian grain 
ships, which sailed from the great Egyptian seaport directly to Rome. 
Thence the ordinary course ran past Rhodes, along the southern shore 
of Crete, where there were favorable harbors and thence north- 
westerly past the southern shores of Greece until they felt in their 
sails the northern winds which came down through the Adriatic and 
which bore them quickly to the eastern shores of Sicily. There they 
turned abruptly northward through the Straits of Messina and sailed 
directly to Puteoli or the mouth of the Tiber. The open season for 
navigation was ended by the 10th of November, although, according 
to the Latin writer Vegitius, the favorable season w^as limited to four 
short months between May 26 and September 14. 

Paul was placed as a prisoner under the charge of the centurion 
Julius, who was apparently one of the many officers under the immedi- 
ate direction of the emperor. With him went Aristarchus, whom 
Paul in Colossians 4^° speaks of as his "fellow prisoner." According 

219 



THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 

to the Western text, the journey from Sidon to Myra took fifteen days. 
The accepted text states that they met adverse winds which retarded 
their progress and compelled them to sail south of the Island of Cyprus, 
rather than skirt the shores of Syria and Asia Minor. From the first 
Paul seemed to have won the respect and later the genuine affection 
of the Roman official in whose charge he had been placed. With his 
usual enthusiasm and energy the apostle entered heartily into the 
discussion as to whether or not they should venture to continue their 
belated voyage along the southern shores of Crete. Paul's experience 
and good judgment led him to oppose this plan, but the counsel of 
the captain and the owner of the ship overruled his advice. The 
reference to the Feast of the Atonement indicates that they were 
venturing beyond the open season for sailing, and the event signally 
confirmed the wisdom of Paul's counsel. The vivid description of 
the storm and shipwreck needs no interpretation. Above it all Paul 
rises sane and serene, again the master of the situation. In the hour 
of crisis, as so often in his experience, his dauntless faith expressed 
itself first through a heavenly vision and then through words of cheer 
and inspiration. Here we see the reasons why Paul gained an in- 
vincible hold upon the affections and wills of men. Good faith, good 
fellowship, and unceasing confidence in the unlimited power and the 
constant guidance of a kindly Providence inspired him and all to 
whom he spoke. Even the venomous serpent, probably still par- 
alyzed by the cold, seemed to the onlookers to have no power over 
this man who was in such close league with the Infinite. Even the 
sick were given new hope and health by his sympathetic touch. The 
miracles which Luke records seem but commonplaces in the life of 
Paul. As we have already seen, the apostle himself regarded them 
simply as incidental proofs of his divine commission. Before their 
three months' sojourn was over, not only the governor but also the en- 
tire population of the little island of Malta were vying with each 
other in showing hospitality to the Roman prisoner who had appealed 
to Caesar. 

V. PauPs Journey to Rome. After Paul and his strange com- 
pany had spent three winter months in Malta they set out on an 
Alexandrian ship for Rome. Instead of going around to the mouth 
of the Tiber they entered the Bay of Naples and landed at Puteoli. 
It was a period when the beautiful Italian springtime was just burst- 
ing forth in its glory. Puteoli was at this time the favorite watering 
resort of the Roman nobility whose magnificent villas skirted the Bay 

220 



PAUL'S JOURNEY TO ROME 

of Naples. Dearer to the heart of Paul than the beauties of nature 
and the creations of man was the hearty welcome which he received 
from the Christian brothers residing there. His friend, the Roman 
centurion, allowed him to spend the week with them. On his arrival 
a messenger had evidently been sent to inform the Christians at Rome, 
for, as he proceeded on his journey, a deputation met him at the 
Forum of Appius, forty-three miles south of Rome. To Paul this 
evidence of their loyalty was a great inspiration. More as a trium- 
phant conqueror than as a prisoner under a serious charge, he proceeded 
along the famous Appian Way toward the Imperial City which he en- 
tered at the Porta Capaena. Thence he probably proceeded through 
the heart of the city, viewing the Palatine with its stately palaces on 
the left, past the old Forum toward the northern side of the city where 
was situated the camp of the pretorian guard. 

VI. The End of the Race. Luke states that for two years Paul 
lived in his own hired house, receiving all that came to him, preaching 
the Kingdom of God, and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, quite 
openly and without hinderance. This remarkable freedom may have 
been due to the influence of his friend the Roman centurion. It was 
entirely in keeping with the Roman custom of the period. Tacitus 
states in his Annals (6^) that Gallio, the brother of Seneca, who had 
been proconsul of Achaia during Paul's activity at Corinth and who, 
like the great apostle, met his death at the hands of Nero, was thus 
kept under guard, not in his own hired house but in the house of a 
Roman officer. One of Luke's chief aims was to show that, while the 
hand of Christian fellowship had been freely extended to the Jews, 
they had almost invariably taken the initiative in persecuting the 
Christians. He, therefore, departs from the direct narrative to tell 
us that Paul, soon after his arrival, called together the leading Jews 
of Rome, stated his case, and appealed to their sense of justice. Not 
having received any news from their fellow Jews in Palestine, they 
were at first inclined to accept his story, but the majority of them re- 
fused to accept his teachings. Luke's condensed narrative leads us 
to imply that Paul in the end failed to win that support from the Jews 
at Rome which he sorely needed. It was so contrary to his character- 
istic tact to upbraid them for their failure to accept the Clu-istian 
faith that it is probable that this portion of the narrative has been 
somewhat colored by Luke's apologetic purpose. The significant 
fact underlying the narrative is that Paul fully recognized the peril 
of his position and the importance of conciliating, if possible, the Jews 

221 



THE AMBASSADOR IN BONDS 

at Rome. The abrupt ending of Luke's narrative is in itself ominous. 
If Paul had been liberated by the Roman emperor, Luke would have 
been the first to proclaim this fact, for it would have conserved as 
nothing else could one of the chief aims for which he wrote. Luke, 
on the other hand, was not writing a book of martyrs. Nothing is 
said of the death of Peter, the other leading character in his history. 
The death of James is passed over with the barest mention. The 
martyrdom of Stephen alone is recorded in detail because of its power- 
ful influence on the expansion of the Christian church. The tradition 
that Paul was released to preach in the West cannot be traced earlier 
than the end of the second Christian century and was probably based 
on the apostle's expression of the hope, in Romans 15^^, that he might 
live to visit Spain. The long delay of Paul's trial is in perfect keep- 
ing with all that we know about Nero and especially the early, irrespon- 
sible years of his reign when he spent practically all of his time in the 
pursuit of pleasure and left the direction of public affairs to his old 
teacher Seneca, the Stoic philosopher, and to Burrus, the pretorian 
prefect. This long delay also gave Paul's Jewish foes, of whom the 
heads of the priestly hierarchy at Jerusalem were the chief, an op- 
portunity to collect ample evidence against him. There was much 
that they could present to blacken his character in the eyes of the 
Roman officials, who, in dealing with a prisoner charged with stirring 
up sedition, were not so much concerned with motives as with acts. 
Even Luke's narrative indicates that wherever Paul went he aroused 
bitter opposition which frequently expressed itself in mob attack and 
popular uproar. In II Timothy 4 we evidently have notes from the 
closing days of Paul's life. In 4^^ the apostle speaks of Alexander 
the blacksmith: "He has done me a great harm; the Lord will pay 
him back for what he has done. Beware of him for he has been bit- 
terly hostile to everything that I have said." It is not impossible that 
this is Alexander the Jew of Ephesus, who, according to Acts 19^^, 
was put forward as spokesman when the silversmiths and tradesmen 
of that temple city rose up to mob Paul and his associates. In H 
Timothy 4^^' ^^ Paul adds pathetically: "The first time there was no 
one to defend me, but all deserted me. May this not be brought up 
against them! But the Lord supported me and gave me strength. 
... I was rescued from the jaws of the lion." In the light of ^^ we 
see him alone, with only the faithful Luke to comfort him, fighting his 
last great fight. Pitted against him were the same foes that had, 
under the shadow of Roman authority a quarter of a century before, 

222 



THE END OF THE RACE 

hunted to death his innocent Master. The analogies between the two 
scenes are strikingly close. The actors and setting alone are different. 
Jesus faced death at the capital city of his nation. Paul the Roman 
citizen died at the capital of the empire to which he owed allegiance. 
Clement of Rome, who lived near the close of the first century, wrote : 
"Paul by his example pointed out the prize of patient endurance, . . . 
he won the noble renown, which was the reward of his faith, having 
taught righteousness to the whole world and having reached the 
farthest bounds of the West. And when he had borne his testimony 
before the rulers, he departed from the world and went into the holy 
place, having been found a notable example of patient endurance." 
TertuUian, who wrote in the second century, is more explicit: "Paul 
has for his crown the same death with John (the Baptist)." And 
Origen, early in the third century, states definitely that Paul "suf- 
fered martyrdom in Rome under Nero." Paul was probably beheaded 
at Rome in 57 or 58 a.d., early in the reign of Nero. In II Timothy 
4^'^ we have his final song of triumph: "I am already being poured 
out as a drink offering and my time to go has come. I have fought 
the good fight, I have run the race, I have kept the faith. Hence- 
forth there is left for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, 
the righteous judge, shall give me on that great day — and not only 
to me but to all who have loved the thought of his appearing." 

§ CLXIV. THE LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ and Timothy our brother, Greet- 
to our beloved fellow-worker, Philemon, to our sister Apphia, (p^hi- 
to our fellow-soldier, Archippus, and to the church which J.^™<>" 
meets in your house. May grace and peace be granted you 
all from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I always give thanks to my God when I mention you in Thanks- 
my prayers; for as I hear of your love and faith which you fU,^^ 
maiifest toward the Lord Jesus and to all the saints, I pray 
that their participation in your faith may result in their 
gaining a clear knowledge of all the good we enjoy through 
our relations to Christ. For I have had great joy and com- 
fort in your love, my brother, because the hearts of the saints 
have been refreshed through you. 

Therefore, although in Christ I might be quite free to- 
ward you to command you to do what is fitting, I appeal to 

223 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

Appeal you rather on the ground of love. So as Paul, the old man, 

c?em- who is now a prisoner for Christ Jesus, I appeal to you on 

toward ^®^^^ ^^ ^7 Spiritual child who was bom while I was in 

o^i- chains — Onesimus ! Once you found him worthless, but now, 

(?^) true to his name (Profitable), fhe is worth something both 

to you and to me. I am sending him back to you, ttiough 

it means parting with my very heart. I would have liked to 

keep him with me, that in your stead he might serve me 

during my imprisonment for the gospel; but I wish to do 

nothing without your consent, so fiat this kind act of yours 

might not be done under compulsion but of your own free will. 

For Perhaps it was for this very reason that he was parted 

Sder- from you for a while, that you might receive him back for 

treat- Sood, no longer as a slave but something more than a slave 

mint" — a brother, pecuUarly dear to me, but even dearer to 

(i*-2°) yQ^ \ioi^ as a human being and as a fellow Christian ! 

Therefore if you regard me as a partner, then receive him 

as you would me. And if he has done anything dishonest 

or owes you any stmi, put that down to my accoimt : * I, 

Paul, write this with my own hand, I will pay it back.' (I 

say nothing of the fact that you owe me, over and above, 

your very soul.) Yes, brother, let me have some return 

from you in the Lord ! Refresh my heart in Christ. 

Pauls I write you, trusting in your obedience. I know you will 

\S?22) do even more than I say, and at the same time get quarters 

ready for me, for I hope that through your prayers I may be 

sent back to you ! 

Con- Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ, salutes you, as 

saY^F do also Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow- 

*i?B. workers. 

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your 
spirit. Amen. 



(23-25) 



Greet- Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and 
*(^oi. Timothy, our brother, to the consecrated and faithful 
^'•')' brothers in Christ at Colossae. May grace and peace be 

granted to you from God our Father. 
Thanks- We always give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord 
(3-1)^^ Jesus Christ, when we pray for you because we have heard 

of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love which you cher- 

224 



THANKSGIVING FOR FAITH OF THE COLOSSIANS 

ish for all the saints on account of the hope laid up for you 
in heaven. You have heard of this hope in the message of 
gospel truth which has come to you, as it spreads over all 
3ie world, yielding fruit and increasing, as it also has done 
among you from tiie day that you heard it and learned to 
know what God's grace really is, as indeed you did learn 
to know it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant. 
He is a faithful minister of Christ in your behalf and it is 
he who has informed us of your love in the Spirit. 

Now I rejoice in my sufferings in your behalf, and I would Paul's 
make up in my own person whatever is lacking of the suf- f^fS" 
ferings which Christ has to suffer in behalf of his body, the ^f^^ 
church. I have been appointed a minister of the church Gen- 
in the position intrusted to me by God in your interests, *¥^23) 
to present God's message fully, even that secret which, 
though concealed from all ages and generations, now has 
been disclosed to his saints. God willed that they should 
understand the glorious wealth which this secret holds for 
the Gentiles — this secret which is Christ in you as your 
hope of glory. Him we proclaim, training and teaching 
every man in all wisdom in order that we may present 
every man before God, perfect in Christ. For tiiis end I 
labor, striving with a divine energy which is working might- 
ily within me. Yes, I want you to know how severe is 
the struggle in which I am engaged in behalf of you and 
the brothers in Laodicea and for all who have never seen 
my face, that their hearts may be encouraged, that they 
may be welded together in love, that they may have all the 
wealth of conviction that comes from insight, and that 
they may know the secret of God which is Christ, in whom 
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge he hidden ! 

Therefore, since you have received the Messiah, even Christ's 
Jesus the Lord, hve your life in him, being firmly rooted acS 
and founded in him, confirmed in the faith, as you have and 
been taught it, and filled to overflowing with gratitude to po^? 
God. Take care lest anyone lead you away prisoner by his *^^"''^ 
philosophy or idle fancy based on himian tradition, or on a 
belief in the elemental spirits of the world and not on Christ. 
For it is in Christ that the entire fullness of the divine na- 
ture dwells embodied and in him you are made perfect. 

225 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

It is he who is the head of all rulers and powers; in him 
you have also been circumcised with a circumcision not 
performed by human hand, but with Christ's own circum- 
cision, which consists in the putting off of the body of flesh, 
for you were buried with him in baptism and thereby raised 
with him through faith in the power of God which raised 
him from the dead. 
What If, therefore, you have risen with Christ, seek those 
^eans things which are above, where Christ is seated at the 
raided ^^S^* hand of God. Mind what is above and not what is 
^th on the earth. Do not tell Ues to one another, for you have 
fil^t stripped off the old mankind with its practices and have put 
® ") on the new mankind, which is being renewed in knowledge 
in the likeness of its Creator. In that new creation there 
is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, 
barbarian, Scjrthian, slave nor freeman; but Christ is every- 
thing and in all of us. 
The Therefore, as God's own chosen, consecrated and be- 

dmces loved, be clothed with compassion, kindness, hmnility, 
chrisi; gentleness, patience. Bear with one another and forgive 
ufe^^ one another, if anyone has a complaint against another. 
Just as the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive. And 
above all you must have love, for it is that which binds to- 
gether the perfect life. Also let the peace which Christ 
gives reign supreme in your hearts. For this end you have 
been called to be members in one body. Also be thankful. 
Let the message of Christ dwell within you in rich measure. 
Teach and train one another in all wisdom by means of 
psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing to God with 
thankfulness in your hearts, and whatever you do in word 
or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks 
through him to God the Father. Children, obey your par- 
ents at every point, for this is right for those who belong to 
the Lord. Fathers, do not irritate your children lest you 
make them sullen. Servants, obey yotu: earthly masters in 
everjrthing, not only when their eye is on you, as those who 
aim simply to please men, but with single purpose, be- 
cause you revere the Lord. Whatever you are doing, work 
at it heartily, as servants of the Lord and not of men. 
Tychicus, that beloved brother and faithful minister and 

226 



(12-23) 



sonal 
notes 

(47. 16. 
13) 



PERSONAL GREETINGS 

fellow servant of the Lord, will give you all the information Per- 
about me. It is for this reason that I am sending him to 
you that you may know how I am and to comfort your 
hearts. He is accompanied by that faithful and beloved 
brother, Onesimus, who is one of yourselves. They will 
inform you of everything here. And when this letter has 
been read by you, let it be read also in the church of the 
Laodiceans. Also see that you read the letter that reaches 
you from Laodicea. The salutation is in my own hand, 
from Paul. Remember me in my imprisonment. Grace 
be with you. 

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to Greet- 
the saints who are faithful in Christ Jesus. May grace ^^pu. 
and peace be granted to you from God our Father and the *'') 
Lord Jesus Christ. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ Thanks- 
who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the flZ)^^ 
heavenly realms through Christ! He chose us in him 
before the creation of the world that we might be conse- 
crated and without blemish in his sight, destining us to be 
his sons through Jesus Christ. 

Therefore, remember that once you were Gentiles in The 
the flesh, who are called the * Uncircumcision ' by the so- Sfjew 
called * Circumcision,' which is the work of human hands g^d 
in the flesh. Remember that you were at that time out- tiie% 
side Christ, aliens to the commonwealth of Israel and f^S-^^ 
strangers to the covenants of the promise, without hope 
and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus 
you, who were once far away, have been brought near by 
the blood of Christ. For he is our peace — ^he who united 
us both and broke down the hostile dividing wall. In his 
own flesh he set aside the law with its definite commands 
so as to make peace by uniting these two parts in himself 
into a new mankind. Thus in himself he put an end to that 
hostility by reconciling both Jew and Gentile to God in one 
body through the cross. And he came to proclaim a gospel 
of peace to you Gentiles who were far away and to the Jews 
who were near, for it is through him that we both have ac- 
cess by one Spirit to the Father. 

227 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

Unity There is one body and one spirit — one hope was held 
chiSrch out to you as the goal of your calling — one Lord, one faith, 
^"^^ *) one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over us all, 
acts through us all, and is in us all. But to each of us has 
been given his own grace, according to the measure of the 
gift of Christ. 
The Christ himself granted some to be apostles, some to be 

body in prophets, some to be evangeUsts, some to be pastors and 
(JS?)^* teachers, in order that the saints may be fully equipped for 
the work of service, that is, for the upbuilding of the body 
of Christ, until we all attain the unity of the faith and the 
knowledge of God's son, even to the perfect manhood and 
to the full measure of maturity which belongs to the fullness 
of Christ, that we may no longer be babes, blown from 
our course and carried here and there by every passing wind 
of doctrine, by the adroitness of men who are skilful in mak- 
ing use of every evil device to mislead. Rather we are to 
hold to the truth and by our love grow up wholly into union 
with him who is our head, even Christ. Dependent on him, 
the whole body is welded together and compacted by every 
joint with which it is suppUed, and by the due activity of 
each part the body is enabled to grow so as to build itself 
up in love. 
The Put away all bitterness and passion, anger, clamoring 

eriy*^" and insults, together with all msdice. Be kind to one an- 
(4IS:* other, tender hearted, forgiving one another, as God in 
52) Christ has also forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of 
God, as his beloved children, and lead lives of love just as 
Christ loved you and gave himself up for you to be a fra- 
grant offering and sacrifice to God. 
Arm- In conclusion, be strong in the Lord and in the strength 
fS?the of his might. Put on the complete armor of God, so as to 
con? ^^ ^^^® *^ stand against the stratagems of the devil. For 
flict^^ we have to struggle not with flesh and blood but against 
(61020) j.^jgj.g ^j^^ authorities, against the forces which govern 
this darkened world, against the spiritual hosts of evil ar- 
rayed against us in the heavens. Therefore put on the 
complete armor of God that you may be able to stand on 
the evil day and remain victors over all. Stand, therefore, 
fastening the girdle of truth about your loins, putting on 
the breastplate of righteousness, and having your feet shod 

228 



ARMING FOR THE LONG CONFLICT 

with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, 
take the shield of faith by which you will be able to quench 
all the flaming darts of the evil one. Take the helmet 
of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of 
God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all manner of 
prayer and entreaty. Be alert to seize every such oppor- 
tunity, interceding in behalf of all the saints and in my 
behalf also, that speech may be given me, that I may ex- 
pound fully and openly the mystery of the gospel on behalf 
of which I am an ambassador in bonds, that I may have 
freedom to speak boldly as I ought. 

Our beloved brother Tychicus, a faithful minister in the Per- 
Lord, will give you all the information about me, that you ^^^ 
may know how I am doing; that is why I am sending him to ("**) 
you that you may know all about me and that he may en- 
courage your hearts. 

Peace and love with faith be to the brothers from God 
the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May grace be 
with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ sincerely. 

Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ, to all the Greet- 
saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, as well as to ^un. 
the bishops and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God *' ') 
our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

I thank my God whenever I remember you; in all my Thanks- 
prayers for you all I always pray with joy because of your co- fjf^^ 
operation in furthering the gospel from the very first day to g"o^_- 
this moment. For of this I am confident, that he who began tioS'of 
the good work in you will go on to perfect it until the day of ^^2^" 
Jesus Christ. It is only right for me to be thus thinking of C^") 
you all, for in my prison and as I defend and confirm the 
gospel, I recall how you all share with me the same grace. 
God is my witness that I yearn for you all with the tender 
affection of Christ Jesus himself. And this is my prayer 
that your love may become richer and richer in knowledge 
and in all manner of insight, that you may be able to make 
right distinctions, so that you may be men of transparent 
character and that you may do no harm to any one, in view 
of the day of Christ, and that you may be full of the fruits of 
righteousness, which come through Jesus Christ to the glory 
and praise of God. 

Now I would have you know, brothers, that the things 

229 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

The which have befallen me have really tended to advance the 

nlie' gospel; throughout the whole of the pretorian guard and 

effects ever3rwhere else it is generally recognized that I am im- 

Paid's prisoned for the sake of Christ, and most of the brothers 

prison- have through my imprisonment gained greater confidence 

rnent in the Lord to speak fearlessly the word of God. 

^.g I know that this will result in my release, because of your 

calm prayers and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, in ful- 

tude fillment of my earnest expectation and hope that I may 

toYn<^d never feel ashamed, but that, now as ever, by my boldness 

or^^° Christ may be honored in my person, whether by life or 

fiSf by death. For me to live is Christ and to die is gain. But, 

if it is to live in the body, this means for me fruitful work; 

but what I should choose I know not. I am in a dilemma 

between the two. I have a strong desire to depart and be 

with Christ, for that is by far the best. But for your sakes 

it is more necessary that I should live on here in the flesh. 

And since I am sure of this, I know that I shall abide and 

remain with you all, to promote your progress and joy in 

the faith. Thus you will have ample cause to glory in Jesus 

Christ over me, as a result of my again being with you. 

Exhor- Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, Rejoice. Let 

t?i2^ your forbearance be known to all men. The Lord is at 

jo^ui hand. Be anxious about nothing; but in regard to every- 

caim thing make known your requests to God in prayer and 

^^*'^^ supplication with thanksgiving; so shall the peace of God, 

which surpasses all imderstanding, keep guard over your 

hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 

Cher- Finally, brothers, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever 

noble things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever 

thoughts things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 

things are of good repute — if there be any virtue or anj^thing 

worthy of praise — think on these things. Practise also what 

you have learned and received and heard and seen in me; 

then the God of peace will be with you. 

But I rejoice in the Lord greatly that now at length you 
have revived your thoughtfulness for me; for you were 
ever thoughtful, but you lacked opportimity. Not that I 
speak of want, for I have learned how to be content wher- 
ever I am. I know how to live humbly; I also know how to 

230 



THANKSGIVING FOR KINDNESS 

Uve amidst abundance. I have been initiated into each Thanj^s 
and every secret of life, both of plenty and of hunger, of p^^-^ 
abimdance and of want. I can do all things in him who ^^_ 
strengtheneth me. Yet it was beautiful of you to share in ness 
my affliction. You Philippians know well that, in the be- pwu^ 
ginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no ggfjg_ 
church but yours had any communication with me about tians 
giving and receiving; even when I was in Thessalonica ^'"'"^ 
you sent money once and again for my needs. It is not the 
money I am anxious about, but what I am anxious about 
is the interest that accumulates in this way to your credit! 
I have enough of everything and more than enough. I 
am amply supplied with what you sent by Epaphroditus; 
it is a fragrant perftmie, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing 
to God. And my God will supply all your own needs from 
his wealth in glory in Christ Jesus. Glory to God our 
Father for ever and ever. Amen. 

I. Paul's Last Letters. Bound in chains and facing almost 
certain death, Paul continued to direct the churches of his planting 
by means of letters and faithful messengers. Five and possibly six 
of his surviving letters come from this period of imprisonment. They 
fall into two groups. The first group includes the letters to Philemon 
and the Colossians and the one which at present bears the name 
Ephesians. From references within them we learn that all three 
were sent at the same time in the care of Tychicus and Onesimus to 
Paul's friends in Asia Minor. The letter to the Philippians was 
written when Paul had aheady begun to feel the pinch of poverty. 
In this letter he promises to send Timothy to them ere long. In the 
closing chapter of II Timothy, which is unquestionably Pauline, his 
faithful fellow worker has already left him and, save for Luke, he is 
quite alone. This, therefore, represents the last of that remarkable 
series of letters which had come from the great apostle to the Gentiles. 
They contain Paul's dying testament. In them he has endeavored 
to formulate the heart of the message with which he has been intrusted 
and to explain the mystery of the gospel. As the result, they are, 
with the exception of Romans, the most doctrinal of his epistles. 
Under the shadow of his coming death he was evidently relaxing his 
hold on the detailed problems of individual churches. The distinctions 
between Jew and Gentile and the conflicts about the ceremonial law 

231 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

are but distant memories. Instead liis thoughts are fixed on the 
eternal verities. As he himself tells us, he is now an old man. The 
reader sometimes misses the fiery vigor and the crisp incisiveness that 
characterize Paul's earlier controversial letters. The strength and 
charm of these letters lies in the wealth of rich and warm emotion 
which pervades them. The stream of love and brotherly kindness, 
which runs through all of his writings, now broadens and deepens. 
Paul is here intimately revealed as the friend and loving adviser of 
master and slave, of saint and sinner, of those strong in the Christian 
faith and of those perplexed with doubts. He is anxious about his 
own future only as it will affect his friends. Like his Master, he 
faces life and death unafraid. The peace of Christ completely fills 
his heart and brims over into these peerless love-letters. They also 
develop certain profound and important religious conceptions which 
he had only hinted at in his earlier letters. 

II. The Occasion of Paul's Letter to Philemon. Paul's 
letter to Philemon and that in Romans 16 are the only personal notes 
that have survived from the apostle's voluminous correspondence. 
From Colossians 4^ we learn that Philemon was probably a native of 
the little town of Colossse on the great highway that ran eastward 
from Ephesus. Paul's words imply that he was one of the converts 
won during the apostle's ministry at Ephesus. The letter is addressed 
to Philemon and his wife Apphia and to Archippus, who was probably 
their son. Philemon was evidently a wealthy and influential man. 
At this home the Christian chm-ch held its meetings, and Archippus 
was their leader. Among the many whom Paul had attracted to him 
through his personality and preaching, while a prisoner at Rome, was 
the runaway slave Onesimus — a part of the vast human wreckage that 
gravitated irresistibly to Rome. The confession of this genuinely 
converted slave revealed the fact that he had once belonged to Paul's 
friend Philemon and that he had not only run away but had probably 
stolen from his master. Both of these offenses, according to Roman 
law, were punishable by death. Paul's faith in the social efficiency 
of Christianity is signally illustrated by what he did. Into the hands 
of the runaway slave he put this letter and confidently sent him back 
to his master. It breathed the spirit of good-fellowship, mutual 
confidence, and brotherly kindness. It reveals a democracy that over- 
leaps all social distinctions. With kindly humor that is not the least 
of Paul's many attractions he makes a friendly pun on the name of 
Onesimus (Profitable). It is the letter of a courtly, noble-minded 

232 



THE LETTER TO PHILEMON 

Christian gentleman, forgetful of self and intent simply upon establish- 
ing goodwill between all men. It also well illustrates Paul's superla- 
tive tact. Not by command, but by an appeal to Philemon's generosity, 
he insures a hearty welcome and full forgiveness for the once dishonest, 
runaway slave. This homely little letter is, therefore, of large signifi- 
cance, for it presents Christianity not in theory but in practice, and 
introduces us to two worthy citizens of the ideal Christian community 
which Paul was seeking to make world-wide. 

III. The Purpose and Thought of Paul's Epistle to the 
Colossians. Like the Epistle to the Romans, this letter was ap- 
parently written to the members of a church which Paul had never 
visited. Its general structure closely resembles that of the larger 
epistle. It begins with the usual greeting and thanksgiving (1^"^). 
The doctrinal and most important section is found in 124-223^ the prac- 
tical applications in 3^-4^, and the concluding notes and salutations 
in 4'"^^. The occasion of the letter was a visit of Epaphras, a faith- 
ful Christian, who laid before Paul the complex problems which were 
troubling the Christians of Colossse. Colossse, by virtue of its geo- 
graphical situation was peculiarly exposed to the gnostic and Greek 
influences which emanated from Ephesus on the west, and to the 
popular doctrines of the mystic religions which came pouring in from 
the East. Certain Jewish exorcists, who still insisted on the impor- 
tance of ceremonial rites, such as circumcision and strict Sabbath 
observance, apparently contributed to the confusion of religious ideas 
and so completed the bewilderment of the simple-minded Christians 
of Colossse. In this epistle Paul is evidently fighting the current 
gnostic and mystical religions with their own weapons. It is another 
graphic illustration of his being "all things to all men." His language 
and teachings clearly show the influence of his talks with Epaphras. 
Here beliefs partially suggested in earlier epistles are expanded. It 
is also possible that during his imprisonment Paul had been reading 
certain current Jewish apocalyptic books. The result is that in this 
epistle and in its companion, Ephesians, the historical Jesus largely 
disappears and the Christ is interpreted in the language of the Jewish 
apocalypses. Like all the Jews of his age, Paul firmly believed in 
hierarchies of angelic beings both good and bad. Through the Jewish 
belief in personified Wisdom his mind had been opened to the doctrine 
of the Logos, set forth by the Greek philosophers and Philo. He 
also appreciated the attractions of the mystery-rehgions, which offered 
personal salvation through mystical unity with the Deity. 

233 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

The terms in which Paul sets forth his Christology in these epistles 
are, therefore, not peculiar to him but a part of his varied inlieritance. 
His aim is to make clear to all types of readers his profound conviction 
that Christ is absolutely supreme above all the elemental spirits of 
earth and heaven and thus to furnish a practical basis for unity and 
to prevent discord and factiousness. To those familiar with Greek 
philosophy he declared: "In Christ the entire fulness of the divine 
nature dwells in the body." To those who inclined toward the pagan 
mystery-religions, he said in terms already familiar to them: "You 
have been buried with him in baptism and thereby raised with him 
through faith in the power of God which raised him from the dead." 
The key to the interpretation of his statements is found in his profound 
and original conception of the mystical social solidarity of the race and 
of Jesus' unique relation to the ultimate ideal community which he calls 
the "Body of Christ." With prophetic insight he sees this "new crea- 
tion in which there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncir- 
cumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor freeman; but Christ is every- 
thing and in all of us." This new mankind is a product of the mind 
and work of Jesus. His life, his heroic sacrifice, and his abiding spirit 
are the essential creative forces. Paul evidently has these facts in mind 
when he declares that "Christ is everything and in all of us." Every 
noble emotion, every spiritual aspiration, and every prompting of 
loyalty to the ideal community are felt by Paul to be "Christ in him." 
Christ represents in Paul's thought those eternal forces at work in the 
world and in the hearts of men that have already broken down the hos- 
tile dividing wall between Jew and Gentile and are uniting by the bonds 
of love and brotherhood all mankind into one universal community. 
In the light of this profound conviction the Pauline Christology, with 
all its poetic, old-world imagery, becomes the symbol of eternal and 
intelligible verities. 

IV. The Identity of the So=called "Epistle to the Ephe- 
sians." One of the perplexing New Testament problems is the strik- 
ingly close analogy both in structure and thought between the epistle 
to the Colossians and that addressed (in its present superscription) to 
the Ephesians. The absence of any reference to specific conditions in 
the Ephesian church and the relative lateness of the tradition embodied 
in the superscription make it exceedingly improbable that this epistle 
was originally sent to the Christian community at Ephesus. In 
Colossians 4^^ Paul refers to a letter which he was sending to the Laodi- 
ceans and which he wished the Christians of Colossag also to read. 
Just why he wrote two letters dealing with practically the same themes 

234 



THE IDENTITY OF EPHESIANS 

in very much the same way is not clear; but that he did so is on the 
whole the best explanation of the existence of Ephesians. Laodicea 
was only six miles from Colossse, and Hierapolis across the Lycus 
River was the home of another Christian community. Each of these 
Christian churches was confronted by the same problems. Realizing 
how great was the peril and possibly fearing lest the letter to the 
Colossians might be lost, Paul apparently, in the enforced leisure of 
his imprisonment, wrote a duplicate letter, at the same time modify- 
ing and expanding the original. It is possible that this second letter 
bore the superscription, "To the Laodiceans," as is suggested by 
Marcion and other early authorities. This explanation is, on the whole, 
more satisfactory than that it is the work of an unknown Christian 
who used Paul's letter to the Colossians as a foundation on which to 
build later doctrines. Even though, like Colossians, it reflects many 
beliefs only hinted at in earlier epistles but found in the complex of 
religions which was the background of Paul's work and thought, its 
ideas are distinctively Pauline. 

V. Paul's Love=Letter to the Philippians. The occasion of 
Paul's letter to the Philippians was the visit of one of their number, 
Epaphroditus, who had brought from them to Paul in prison a gift 
of much-needed money. The messenger had been seriously ill and 
homesick at Rome. He accordingly is to be Paul's messenger to the 
Philippian Christians. The apostle's aim is to express his thanks and 
love, not only for this gift but for the many which had endeared their 
friendship and bound him peculiarly close to them. It is, therefore, 
one of the most intimate of his letters. His larger aim is to set forth 
his faith under trial and thereby to strengthen that of his loyal friends 
so that they may enjoy in largest measure the peace and happiness 
that the Christian life affords. Paul's approaching death sanctifies 
and glorifies this letter. Its detailed allusions light up the darkness 
which otherwise shrouds the closing days of his Roman imprison- 
ment. All anxieties and polemics have disappeared. ''Rejoice" is 
its key-note. In fact Paul uses this word so often that in 3^ he ex- 
claims, with a characteristic flash of kindly humor: ''Well then, my 
brothers, rejoice in the Lord. I am repeating this word 'rejoice' in 
my letter, but that does not tire me and it is for you a safe precau- 
tion." Here is spontaneously revealed the joy of a runner who has 
nearly completed his race — the joy of one who speaks out of his own 
rich experience. He is still hoping that he may be released in order 
to visit them, but regarding the outcome of his trial he is indifferent, 
assured that, whether it be life or death, either is gain. In his closing 

235 



LAST LETTERS OF THE AGED PRISONER 

words he expresses the wealth of his love for them and reveals his 
burning zeal to inspire each of them with the serene faith which made 
life or death for him a joy. 

VI. Paul's Contribution to Christianity. Chief among the 
many diflficult tasks which the present generation has midertaken is 
the evaluation of the work of Paul. Many have contended that he 
has concealed rather than revealed the personality and teachings of 
the Master whom he professed to serve. For a generation the question 
of whether Jesus or Paul is the real founder of Christianity has been 
hotly discussed. That Paul's beliefs, especially regarding the Christ, 
were influenced by his Jewish and Hellenic inheritances cannot be 
questioned. His pictures of a pre-existent, supernatural Messiah who 
is to come again from heaven to judge mankind and to establish a new 
kingdom on earth, is very different from the simple portraits of Jesus 
in the oldest gospel records; but he shared these beliefs with the primi- 
tive church. They are not his unique or permanent contributions to 
Christianity. It is, therefore, unfortunate that Christian theology 
in the past has been built more on the teachings of Paul than on those 
of Jesus. The chief reason is because the material which has come 
from Paul is far more abundant. His great historic work was the break- 
ing of the bonds of Judaism. In this task he did not work alone, for 
Stephen and many others shared in this labor; but it was Paul who 
formulated the declaration of independence and commanded the 
forces that eflPected the revolution. He grasped most clearly Jesus' 
great teaching of individual liberty and made it an accepted tenet in 
the Christian church. Paul also found the results of Jesus' work and 
teachings enmeshed in a narrow Jewish environment. He brought 
them out and held them up before the enraptured gaze of humanity. 
Moreover, he interpreted the principles of Jesus and the beliefs of his 
immediate followers into the language and figures current in the larger 
Grseco-Roman world of his day. Thus Paul was the chief leader in 
that band of enthusiastic, devoted missionaries who transplanted 
Christianity from Jewish to Gentile soil. While he was not the first 
Christian missionary, he inspired and directed the great missionary 
movement of the first century until, through his wise statesmanship 
and tireless activity, Christianity had been established in all the 
great cities of the empire. Paul also reared up a large band of efficient 
Christian preachers and teachers, who multiplied his work and carried 
its influence to all civilized races. 

In his life, as well as in his teachings, Paul interpreted Christianity 

236 



PAUL'S CONTRIBUTION TO CHRISTIANITY 

as a personal, spiritual fellowship between God and the individual; 
at the same time he placed a profound emphasis upon the ethical and 
social aspects of religion. All generations have recognized that Paul's 
warm, religious life, his devotion to his Master, and his self-sacrificing 
heroism are to be counted among the richest heritages of Christendom. 
The present generation, however, is beginning to appreciate the su- 
preme value of his contribution to the practical interpretation of 
Jesus' social teachings. He it was who developed the logical and 
concrete implications of his Master's ideal of the Kingdom of God. 
On the basis of his work with the Christian communities which he 
established in the fields of his missionary effort he perfected the plan 
of an ideal community that would include all mankind, that would 
give every man an opportunity through loyal, loving service to attain 
fulness of life and happiness and would realize in definite form on 
earth the lofty, social teachings of his Master. It is, therefore, not 
as a theologian but as a Christian missionary, statesman, and social 
organizer that Paul has made his greatest and most permanent con- 
tributions to Christianity. The external structure and the creeds of 
historic Christianity are largely the results of his building; but, as he 
always asserted, the foundation on which it is laid is Jesus Christ. 



237 



CHRISTIANITY DURING THE SECOND 
HALF OF THE FIRST CENTURY 

§CLXV. THE MESSAGE OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION IN 

I PETER 

Greet- Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ to God's chosen people, 
(^^ the exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
Peter Asia, and Bithynia, chosen in accordance with the fore- 
knowledge of God the Father through the sanctifying work 
of the Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with 
his blood. May grace and peace be multiplied to you. 
Thani«- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ ! 
^^° In accordance with his great mercy he hath caused us to be 
futS^e ^^^^ anew to a living hope through the resiurection of 
hope Jesus Christ from the dead, to an icJieritance imperishable, 
^' '^ imdefiled, and unfading. It has been reserved in heaven 
for you who are guarded by the power of God through faith 
for a salvation which is ready to be revealed at the last 
hour. Rejoice, therefore, in this, even though now for a 
short time you may need to suffer various trials. This 
suffering is only for the testing of your faith (far more 
precious than gold which perishes and yet is tested by fire), 
and it will be found to result in praise and glory and honor 
at the reappearing of Jesus Christ. Him you love, although 
you have not looked upon him. Though at present you 
cannot see him, you nevertheless beUeve in him and you 
will exult with an unspeakable and glorious joy when you ob- 
tain, as the object of your faith, the salvation of yoiu: souls. 
The Now that through your obedience to the truth you have 

of^ws purified your souls for a brotherly love that is sincere, love 
b&Th ^^® another heartily and fervently; for you have been bom 
(22.23. anew, not of mortal but of immortal seed by God's ever- 
^''^ living and enduring word. So put away all malice, all 
deceit and insincerity and envy and slander of every kind! 

238 



FRUITS OF THE NEW BIRTH 

Like newly bom infants, thirst for the pure spiritual milk, 
that by it you may grow up to salvation. 

You are the chosen race, the royal priesthood, the holy The 
nation, the people who belong to God, that you may pro- i^aei 
claim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness (' '") 
into his marvelous light. Once you were no people but 
now you are God's people. Once you were impitied but 
now you are pitied. 

Beloved, I entreat you as sojotimers and exiles not to Toat- 
indulge the fleshly passions which wage war upon the soul. JS^* 
Conduct yomrselves properly before Sie heathen, so that, [^^|^^ 
although they now defame you as evil-doers, they may yet God 
glorify God, when you are put on trial, because they see ^" "^ 
your good deeds. 

Submit for the Lord's sake to every human authority. To 
whether it be the emperor as supreme or governors sent |o^°"* 
by him for the punishment of evil-doers and the encourage- ^^^ 
ment of those who do what is right. For it is God's will 03 ^^ 
that by doing what is right you should silence the ignorant 
charges of foolish persons. Be free men, but do not make 
your freedom an excuse for evil conduct; rather be God's 
true servants. Honor everyone, love the brotherhood, rev- 
erence God, honor the emperor. 

Household servants, be submissive to your masters with Duty 
all respect, not only to those who are kind and considerate hints' 
but also to those who are surly; for it is a merit, when from ('''") 
a sense of a duty to God one patiently endures the pains of 
suffering imjusliy inflicted. For if you do wrong and re- 
ceive a blow for it, what credit is there in your bearing it 
patiently? But if, when you do right and suffer for it, you 
bear it patiently this counts as a merit in God's sight. 

It is for this that you were called, for when Christ also jesus' 
suffered in your behalf, he left you an example that you pfe^" 
should follow in his footsteps. He committed no sin nor was ('''') 
guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled he reviled 
not again; when he suffered he never threatened, but left 
everjrthing to him who judgeth justly. He it was who bore 
our sins in his own body on the cross that we, having died 
as far as our sins are concerned, may Uve for righteousness. 
By his wounds you have been healed. For you were 

239 



MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER 

strajring like lost sheep, but now you have come back to 

the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls. 

Duties In the same way you wives must be submissive to your 

^ves husbands so that, even if some of these husbands do not 

(3^*) beUeve the word, they may be won over, apart from the 

word, through the behavior of their wives when they see 

how reverent and blameless your behavior is. Let not 

your adornment be merely outward, one of plaiting the 

hair, putting on ornaments of gold, or wearing apparel. 

Instead, it should be a new nature in the heart with the 

incorruptible beauty of a gentle and peaceful spirit which 

is of rare value in the sight of God. 

ofhus- Likewise, you husbands, be considerate, as you live to- 

(0^ ^ gether with your wives, recognizing that they belong to 

the weaker sex. Also treat them as heirs, equally with 

you, of the gift of life, so that your prayers may not be 

hindered. 

The Finally, you should all be of one mind, sympathetic, kind 

?iS^' to the brothers, compassionate, hmnble, not pajring back 

and?ts ®^ ^^^ ®^ ^^^ reviling when you are reviled, but on the 

reward Contrary giving a blessing in return, for to this end you 

^' "^ have been called that you may inherit a blessing, for, 

He who would love life, 

And see good days. 

Let him restrain his tongue from evil, 

And his lips from speaking guile; 

Let him turn from evil and do good. 

Let him seek peace and pursue it. 

For the eyes of the Lord are on the upright. 

And his ears are open to their cry; 

But the face of the Lord is set against evil-doers. 

The And who will wrong you, if you are zealous for that which 

S?^" is good ? Even if you have to suffer for what is right, you 
^^the ^® happy. So have no fear of their threats nor be troubled ; 
Sfth-^ but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord, being always 
p'^rs?- ready with an answer for any one who asks you for a reason 
(»*m^ for the hope which you cherish. Yet answer with meek- 
ness and fear, preserving a good conscience, so that, when 

240 



THE BLESSING AWAITING THE FAITHFUL 

you are assailed, those who slander your good Christian 
behavior may be put to shame. For it is better for you to 
suffer for doing right, if that be the will of God, than for 
doing wrong; for Christ also, once for all, died for sins, a 
just man for tmjust men, that he might bring us to God. 

Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, you must The, 
arm yourselves with a determination to do the same (for J.a|fon 
he who has suffered in the flesh has done with sin) that for g^j^^g^.g 
the rest of yoiu: life in the flesh you may be governed not exam- 
by human passions but by the will of God. For in the past ^4?.5) 
you have given time enough to doing what the heathen 
choose to do ! You used to live lives of unbridled license, 
lust, hard drinking, revelry, dissipation and illicit idolatry; 
therefore, they think it strange that you will not plunge 
with them into the same flood of profligacy; so they abuse 
you. But they will have to give account to him who stands 
ready to judge the Hving and the dead. 

Now the end of all things is near. Therefore, keep a cauto 
cool head, be calm, and pray. Above all be intent upon a*5S 
loving one another, for love hides a multitude of sins. ^f^<^^ 
Be hospitable to one another without grudging. You must 
serve one another, each with the talents which he has re- 
ceived, as excellent stewards of God's manifold goodness. 
If anyone preaches, let it be as one who utters the word 
of God. If anyone renders a service, let it be in the strength 
which God supplieth, so that in everything God may be glori- 
fied through Jesus Christ to whom belongs the glory and 
the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal, which To, 
has come to test you, as though a strange experience had J^^e?* 
befallen you. Rather, since you are sharing Christ's suf- ^^s 
ferings, rejoice that when his glory is revealed you may also 
rejoice and exult. If you are reproached for the sake of 
Christ, you are happy, for then the Spirit of glory, even the 
Spirit of God himself, is resting upon you. Let none of 
you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil-doer or as one 
who meddles with other people's affairs; but if a man suf- 
fers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed ; let him 
rather glorify God for being permitted to bear this name. 

The time is come for the judgment to begin with the 

241 



MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER 

The household of God ; and if it begins with us, what will be the 
p?nd- end of those who reject God^s gospel ! If the righteous 
gg^Qf man is scarcely saved, what will become of the impious 
judg- and sinful ! Therefore, let those who are suffering in ac- 
^7^9) cordance with the will of God, while they continue in their 
well-doing, intrust their souls to him, their faithful Creator. 
Re- Now, I exhort the elders among you — I who am also an 

bmSIs elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ and a sharer 
elders ^^ *^® glory to be revealed — ^be shepherds of your flock of 
(51-*) God. Take charge of them, not under compulsion but 
wiUingly, in accordance with the will of God, not for base 
gain but freely, not by way of lording it over your charges 
but proving yourselves patterns for the flock. Then when 
the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading 
crown of glory. 
Of In the same way you younger men must also submit 

men^^ to the elders. Indeed, all of you must gird yourselves with 
<'"'> humility toward one another, for God opposeth the proud 
but giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourself, tiiere- 
fore, under the strong hand of God, so that when it is time, 
he will raise you. Cast all your anxiety upon him, for he 
careth for you. 
Au Be calm, keep awake. Your enemy, the devil, is going 

f?^® about like a roaring Uon, seeking whom he can devour. 
bSnl Resist him, be steadfast in the faith, knowing that your 
tested brothers in other parts of the world are passing through 
the same sufferings. And the God of all grace who hath 
called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suf- 
fered for a short time, will restore, establish, and strengthen 
you. The dominion is his forever and ever. Amen. 
Per- Through the agency of Silvanus, our faithful brother (as 

notes I consider him), I have written these few lines in order to 
encourage you and to testify that this is what the true grace 
of God is. Stand fast in it. The church in Babylon, 
chosen by God like yourselves, salutes you, as does also 
my son, Mark. Salute one another with a kiss of love. 
Peace be to you all who are in Christ. 

I. The Later Years of the Apostle Peter. Unfortunately, 
Luke's interest is transferred in the latter part of the book of Acts so 

242 



(8-11) 



(12-14) 



LATER YEARS OF THE APOSTLE PETER 

completely to Paul that we are left in almost complete ignorance re- 
garding Peter's later activity. From Paul's letter to the Galatians it 
is evident that James, the brother of Jesus, with his zeal for the Jewish 
law, best interpreted the spirit of the Jerusalem Christians. Peter's 
inclination to extend to the Gentile Christians the hand of fellowship, 
as has been noted on one memorable occasion, was openly rebuked 
by James. This inclination probably explains (1) why Peter did not 
remain at the head of the Jerusalem church and (2) why he sought 
other missionary fields. Acts 9^^-11^* indicates that he first turned 
his attention to the cities along the Mediterranean seaboard. There 
is no evidence that he ever returned to make his permanent home at 
Jerusalem. He was not there on the occasion of Paul's final visit. 
Early tradition says that he became the head of the Antioch church. 
It is exceedingly probable that he made this the centre of his work 
in Syria. Paul's eagerness to push westward was perhaps in part due 
to his desire, or possibly his formal agreement, to leave this field to 
Peter and his associates. It is evident that Peter's reputation and 
authority steadily increased. In I Corinthians 1^^ Paul refers to the 
Cephas or Peter faction in the church at distant Corinth. Paul's 
other later reference to Peter is incidental but suggestive. He claims, 
although he evidently did not avail himself of the right, "to travel 
with a Christian wife like the rest of the apostles, like the brothers of 
the Lord, like Cephas himself." It is indeed unfortunate that he did 
not tell us where Peter was wont to travel, but the statement does 
imply that, like Paul and most of the early Christian apostles, Peter 
himself had entered upon the work of an itinerant missionary. The 
complete absence of any reference to Peter in Paul's detailed letters 
written during his imprisonment indicates that, as late as 57 or 58, 
"the apostle to the circumcision" had not as yet transferred the field 
of his activities to Rome. 

II. Peter*s Martyrdom. There are indications, however, even 
in Acts that Peter became a missionary in later years to the Gentiles 
as well as to the Jews. Early and late Christian traditions are all 
agreed that he spent his last days in the Imperial City and there met 
his death at the hands of Nero. Clement of Rome, writing about 100, 
says: "Peter, who on account of unrighteous jealousy, endured not one 
or two, but many sufferings, and so, having borne his testimony, went 
to his deserved place of glory," is, like Paul, "a notable pattern of 
patient endurance." He adds: "To these men who lived lives of 
holiness was gathered a vast multitude of the elect, who by many 

243 



MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER 

indignities and tortures, being the victims of jealousy, set the finest 
examples among us." Eusebius, quoting from Dionysius, bishop of 
Corinth during the second half of the second century, states that 
Peter and Paul both taught in Italy and suffered martyrdom at the 
same time. He quotes also from a certain Caius, who lived during 
the last half of the second century: *'I am able to show the trophies 
of the apostles; for if you will go to the Vatican or to the Ostian Way, 
you will find the trophies of those who laid the foundation of this 
church." In the light of this early and cumulative testimony, there 
can be little doubt that Peter went to Rome and there met his death. 
It seems certain, however, that these events were subsequent to the 
martyrdom of Paul in 57 or 58. Indeed, the needs of the Roman 
church may well have drawn him to the Imperial City soon after Paul's 
death. If Peter went to Rome in 58 and met his death during the 
persecutions of Nero in 64, he had ample time in which to reorganize 
the Roman church and to establish the basis of the traditions which 
have grown up about his work. Peter's irenical spirit was well cal- 
culated to conciliate the large Jewish element in the Roman church 
and to unite them with the ardent followers of Paul. Thus there is 
every reason to believe that at last the most impulsive, the most 
unstable, the most outspoken, and in many ways the most devoted 
of Jesus' disciples, by his earnestness and his eagerness to serve, not 
only received but merited the highest honors that the later church 
had to bestow; also that he was finally united with his Master through 
martyrdom, not at Jerusalem, the centre of Judaism, but at Rome, the 
new religious capital of Christendom. 

III. The Growth of the Western Church. The momentum 
given to the spread of the Christian church by Peter and Paul and 
their associates increased rather than declined during the last half of 
the first century. Before 60 a.d. Christianity is said to have been 
preached throughout the inhabited world. For the most part the 
heroic activity which resulted in this marvellous growth is an un- 
written chapter in human history. The biblical record does not carry 
us far beyond the death of Paul, and the extra-biblical Christian his- 
torians furnish few details regarding this important period. We 
know it chiefly through the results which were clearly apparent during 
the next centiu-y. Christianity, like a kindling flame, had swept 
along the northern shores of Africa from Egypt to Carthage. In all 
the important cities of Spain, of southern Gaul, of Asia Minor, as well 
as Greece and Italy, strong and growing Christian communities were 

244 



THE GROWTH OF THE WESTERN CHURCH 

established. In Rome Christianity had become such a prominent 
force that it commanded the attention of the Roman as well as the 
Christian historians. As Luke asserts in his apostolic history, Chris- 
tianity in its earliest days had been fostered rather than persecuted 
by the Roman authorities. The first active persecution began under 
Nero in 64. It was apparently confined to Rome, or at least to Italy, 
and there is no evidence that it spread to the provinces. It tended, 
however, to bring the Christians into prominence. Doubtless to them 
was transferred much of the popular disfavor that had hitherto been 
reserved for the Jews. Tacitus in his Anrmls (15^) has painted a 
gruesomely vivid picture of this persecution. He states that in order 
to overcome the persistent rumor that Rome had been set on fire by 
the command of Nero, the emperor *'put in his own place as culprits 
and punished with most ingenious cruelty, men whom the common 
people hated for their shameful crimes and called Christians. Christ, 
from whom the name was derived, had been put to death in the 
reign of Tiberius by the procurator Pontius Pilate. The deadly 
superstition, having been checked for a while, began to break out 
again, not only throughout Judea, where this mischief first arose, 
but also at Rome, where from all sides all things scandalous and 
shameful meet and become fashionable. Therefore, at the beginning, 
some were seized who made confessions; then, on their information, a 
vast multitude was convicted, not so much of arson as of hatred of 
the human race. And they were not only put to death, but subjected 
to insults, in that they were either dressed up in the skins of wild 
beasts and perished by the cruel mangling of dogs or else put on crosses, 
to be set on fire, and, as day declined, to be biu-ned, being used as lights 
by night. Nero had thrown open his gardens for that spectacle and 
gave a circus play, mingling with the people dressed with charioteer's 
costume or driving in a chariot. From this arose, however, toward 
men who were indeed criminals and deserving extreme penalties, 
sympathy, on the ground that they were destroyed not for the public 
good, but to satisfy the cruelty of an individual." Under the growing 
insistence of Rome that all her subjects prove their loyalty by joining 
in the common worship of the emperors, the lot of the faithful Christians 
became increasingly difficult. Under such emperors, however, as 
Vespasian and Titus, there was no open persecution. 

IV. The Persecution of the Christians by Domitian. Do- 
mitian, who came to the throne in 81 a.d., was an autocrat by nature 
and relentlessly crushed anything which suggested opposition to his 

245 



MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER 

absolute authority. Certain members of the growing Christian sect 
soon became the object of his bitter persecution. Originally Chris- 
tianity appears to have spread among the slaves and poorer classes 
of the empire, but in the reign of Domitian it mounted almost to the 
throne itself. According to the Roman historian Cassius Dio, in 95, 
the last year of Domitian's reign, he put to death his cousin Flavins 
Clemens and banished his wife, Flavia Domitilla, who was also related 
to the emperor. "The charge of atheism was made against both of 
them, in consequence of which many others also who had adopted the 
customs of the Jews were condemned. Some were put to death, 
others lost their property." One of the Christian catacombs to-day 
bears the name of Domitilla, and many members of her household lie 
buried there. Strikingly significant of the place which Christianity 
had already won in the empire is the fact that the two sons of Clemens 
and Domitilla had been adopted by Domitian and named as his suc- 
cessors. Had not their parents' heresy been discovered, a Christian 
emperor would probably have been crowned at Rome within less than 
seventy years after the death of Jesus. Domitian does not appear 
to have instituted a wholesale persecution of the Christians, but the 
beliefs of the individual Cliristians rendered it almost impossible for 
them to be loyal to their Master and to the rigorous demands of the 
emperor. The result was that active persecution broke out at many 
points throughout the empire. Its severity was dependent to a great 
extent upon the policy of the local Roman rulers. Pliny, the famous 
Roman writer, in his letter to the Emperor Trajan, written about 112 
A.D., throws much light upon the earlier persecutions and especially 
upon the character of the Christians and their numbers and promi- 
nence even in the distant parts of the empire. Pliny had been ap- 
pointed governor of the province of Bithynia in northwestern Asia 
Minor. His letter also reveals the policy of Rome under the lenient 
rule of Trajan. Pliny prefaces his letter with the statement: "It is 
my custom, my lord, to refer to you all questions about which I have 
doubts." Then he goes on to speak of the many Christians who had 
been brought before him, had confessed their beliefs, and had persisted 
in holding them, until he had been compelled to order them away to 
execution. He adds: "There were others of like insanity, but, because 
they were Roman citizens, I noted them down to be sent to Rome. 
Soon after this, as it often happens, because the matter had been 
brought to notice, the crime became wide-spread and many cases arose. 
. . . Others who had been named by an informer said that they 

246 



PERSECUTION OF THE CHRISTIANS BY DOMITIAN 

were Christians and soon after denied it, saying, indeed, that they had 
been, but had ceased to be Christians, some three years ago, some many 
years, and one even twenty years ago. . . . They asserted, however, 
that the amount of their fault or error was this: that they had been 
accustomed to assemble on a fixed day before daylight and sing by 
turns a hymn to Christ as a god; and that they bound themselves with 
an oath, not for any crime, but rather not to commit a theft, or robbery, 
or adultery, not to break their word, and not to deny a deposit when 
demanded. After these things were done it was their custom to depart 
and meet together again to take food, but ordinary and harmless food; 
and they said that even this had ceased after my edict was issued, by 
which, according to your commands, I had forbidden the existence of 
clubs. On this account I believed it the more necessary to find out 
from two maid-servants, who were called deaconesses, and that by 
torture, what was the truth. I found nothing else than a perverse 
and excessive superstition. I therefore adjourned the examination 
and hastened to consult you. The matter seemed to me to be worthy 
of deliberation, especially on account of the number of those in danger. 
For many of every age, every rank, and even of both sexes, are brought 
into danger, and will be in the future. The contagion of that super- 
stition has penetrated not only the cities but also the villages and 
country places." To this letter Trajan replied, commending Pliny's 
policy and stating that the Christians were not to be sought out but 
if they were accused and convicted, they were to be punished. He also 
commanded that every opportunity be given them for repentance 
and that anonymous accusations should not be admitted. These re- 
markable letters make vividly clear the painful condition in which the 
Christians found themselves throughout the Roman Empire from the 
days of Domitian and give the reader a definite conception of the back- 
ground of the first epistle of Peter, of Hebrews, and of the book of 
Revelation, all of which are the outgrowth of a period of bitter and 
prolonged persecution. 

V. The Aim and Contents of I Peter. It is a striking fact that 
I Peter, according to its superscription, was written to certain of the 
Christians of Bithynia, regarding which Pliny writes in his letter to 
Trajan. Like Paul's epistles to the Colossians and Laodiceans, I 
Peter was intended to be passed on from one Christian community 
to another. The provinces to which it is addressed lie in northwestern 
Asia Minor. The order in which they are mentioned probably repre- 
sents the natural itinerary of the messenger who bore the epistle. If 

247 



MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER 

so, he would land first at Pontus on the southern side of the Black Sea 
and thence go southward through Galatia, turning westward toward 
Cappadocia and Asia, and thence northward through Bithynia, whence 
he could return by water or the direct highway overland to Rome. 
The opening paragraph, following the greeting, states the aim of the 
letter. It was to keep alive the hopes and to encourage the Christians 
in the presence of strong temptations and bitter persecutions. The 
general introduction, which ends with 2^°, is intended to set forth the 
beliefs which are the inspiration of the persecuted Christians. In 
211-312 ^jjg author aims to define their duties toward unbelievers and 
toward each other in their social relations. This is all summed up in 
3^' ^. Chapters 3^^-4^^ picture the blessings awaiting those who do 
right and patiently endure suffering for the sake of their faith. The 
thesis is presented in the opening verses (3^^- ^^) and summed up in 
4^'^^. The section 4}^-5^^ contains an exhortation to be courageous in 
suffering and places special emphasis upon the obligations of the 
elders and the young men in the Christian communities. Again the 
opening verses 0^* ^^) contain the thesis and the concluding verses 
(5^"^^) the summary. Brief personal notes are found in 5^^"^^. The 
epistle is characterized by its complex yet classical Greek style, by its 
remarkably symmetrical structure, and by its broad, hopeful, cou- 
rageous spirit. It was well calculated to calm and steady the terrified, 
wavering Christians, for whom it is written. From the allusions in 
the opening verses of chapter 4 it appears that those to whom the 
epistle or homily is addressed were converts from paganism who were 
familiar, through bitter personal experience, with the hideous vices 
which were prevalent throughout the Grseco-Roman world. 

VI. Authorship and Date of I Peter. The superscription, 
"Peter an apostle of Jesus Christ," appears to answer at once the 
question of authorship, but the epistle itself contains data which pre- 
sent one of the most difficult problems with which the New Testament 
reader is confronted. Certain indications point directly to Peter, the 
disciple, as the author. Many phrases and ideas, as, for example, the 
assertion, in 1^'^, that God judges every one impartially is a reassertion 
of the apostle's word as reported in Acts 10**. So, also, the privilege 
of sharing Christ's sufferings is emphasized both in I Peter 4^^' ^^ and 
in Acts 5^. The beliefs set forth in this homily, and especially the 
expectations regarding the speedy reappearance of Jesus to judge all 
mankind, suggest the simple faith of the primitive Christian church. 
On the other hand, it is difficult to believe that Peter, the Galilean 

248 



AUTHORSHIP AND DATE 

peasant, accustomed to the Aramaic tongue, could acquire the rela- 
tively finished Greek style which is found in this homily. As has also 
been shown in a detailed study {cf. Foster, The Literary Relations of I 
Peter), two hundred and eighteen 'passages in this short book are either 
directly dependent upon or closely related to three of Paul's epistles 
(Rom., Eph., and I Cor.). These references represent half of the 
book. As has been definitely demonstrated, I Peter is a literary 
mosaic. It quotes largely from the Greek version of the Old Testa- 
ment. The author was also intimately acquainted with the Wisdom 
of Solomon (cf., e. g., 2'^ and Wisd. 1^ and 31^, or S^o and Wisd. 145. 6) 
and with II Maccabees. There are also many points of contact with 
the Epistle to the Hebrews, and it seems probable that the dependence 
is on the side of I Peter. On the other hand, this homily is quoted by 
the author of James and also by Clement of Rome, who wrote about 
100 A.D. Even more significant are the repeated allusions to the per- 
sistent persecutions to which the "exiles of the dispersion," that is, 
the Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire, are subjected. 
The only historical situation which fully meets these conditions is 
furnished by the reign of Domitian, 81-96. They are in exact accord 
with those which Pliny found in Bithynia a decade or two later. While 
it would have been chronologically possible for Peter to have written 
this homily before his death, the persecutions of Nero, as reported 
by the Roman and Christian historians, do not present the back- 
ground implied in I Peter. Pliny's reference to a Christian who 
declared that he had recanted twenty years before may well be a di- 
rect allusion to the persecution which our author contemplated. In the 
light of all the facts, therefore, it seems probable that I Peter was written 
between 90 and 95 a.d., although an earlier dating in the reign of Nero 
is not absolutely excluded. 

In certain respects this homily presents a striking analogy to the 
first half of the book of Acts. In both books Paul is clearly the more 
original, pioneer spirit. His convictions and energy dominate the 
situation; but the authors of each of these writings reveal a strong de- 
sire to give to Peter a certain pre-eminence. In each writing the aim 
also is to reconcile the thought of these two great leaders in the apos- 
tolic church. In Acts the earlier differences were passed over in silence. 
In I Peter many of the ideas and striking phrases of Paul reappear 
under the name of the Galilean apostle. The explanation of this 
surprising phenomenon is perhaps to be found in the unusual phrase, 
"through Silvanus," which is found in the postscript to the epistle. 

249 



MESSAGE OF INSPIRATION IN I PETER 

The identity of Silvanus is not certain. This postscript indicates 
that he was Peter's scribe. The preposition that is used, as well as 
the context, implies that he was more. If the epistle was dictated by 
the Galilean apostle the present Greek form of the epistle is probably 
the work of the amanuensis. Furthermore, if Silvanus or Silas is the 
one who accompanied Paul in his second missionary journey, the 
prominence of Pauline ideas and phrases is easily explained. The 
broad outlook of the epistle, the mention of "my son Mark" in the 
concluding verses, and, above all, of the church in Babylon, as the 
church which sends greetings, point to Rome as the place where this 
epistle was written. Tradition furnishes not the least evidence that 
Peter ever visited Babylon or that Christianity by the middle of the 
first century had penetrated the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates. 
As in later Christian literature, Babylon is beyond reasonable doubt a 
symbolic designation for corrupt Rome, even as "my son" is applied 
to Mark, not literally but symbolically. The conclusion which on 
the whole best satisfies these complex facts is that the central teach- 
ings in the epistle came originally from the lips of Peter, but that the 
letter in its present form is largely the work of Silvanus or Silas. Writ- 
ing as he probably did at the beginning of the last decade of the first 
century, when the controversy between Jew and Gentile Christian, 
between Peter and Paul, was practically forgotten and when Paul's 
teachings had broadened and deepened the current of Christian 
thought, he unconsciously, if not deliberately, blended the teachings 
of the two great apostles and sent the epistle forth in the name of 
Peter as a practical message of hope and encouragement to the perse- 
cuted Christians in the distant provinces. 

§ CLXVI. THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

God's God, who in ancient days spoke to our forefathers in many 

preme fomis and fashions through the prophets, has at the end of 

tfJn^^' t^^se days spoken to us through a Son whom he appointed 

through heir of all things, as it was through him that he created the 

Oi^b!" universe. He, reflecting the brightness of God^s glory and 

*'■') being the exact image of God^s own character, upholds all 

things by his word of power. After he had secured our 

purification from sins, he sat down at the right hand of the 

majesty on high, having become as far superior to the 

angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. 

250 



CHRIST'S SUPERIORITY TO ANGELS 
For to what angel did God ever say, 

Thou art my son, 

I have this day become thy Father? 

Or again, 

I will be a father to him, 
And he will be my son. 

He says to the Son, 

Thou didst found the earth at the beginning, O Lord, 

And the heavens are the work of thy hand. 

They will perish, but thou remainest. 

They will all grow old like a garment. 

And thou wilt roll them up like a mantle, 

And like a garment they shall be changed, 

But thou art the same. 

And thy years will never fail. 

For it was fitting that God, for whom and by whom all signifl- 
things exist, after he had brought many sons to glory, should ^f^^^ 
perfect by suffering, the Pioneer of their salvation, for both cMsts 
he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Lg ^^' 
Father. It was necessary that he should resemble his {j^'Js)"' 
brothers in every respect in order to prove a merciful and 
faithful high priest in all things divine, and in order to atone 
for the sins of the people. For, inasmuch as he has suffered 
by his temptations, he is able to help those who are tempted. 

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share a heavenly 
calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high 
priest of our confession. He was faithful to those who ap- 
pointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God^s 
house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater 
glory than Moses, inasmuch as the founder of the house 
enjoys greater honor than the house itself. For every 
house is founded by some one, but God is the founder of 
all things. Moreover, Moses was faithful in all God's 
house as an attendant, in order to bear witness to the things 
which are to be revealed; but Christ was faithful as a Son 

251 



THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

over God's house, and we are that house, if we hold firm to 
the end the confidence and the pride in our hope. 
Our Inasmuch, therefore, as we have a great high priest who 

thSk?" has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let 
^^g^ us hold firmly our confession of faith. For we have not a 
(4U-16) high priest who is incapable of sympathizing with our weak- 
nesses, but one who has been tempted in all ways like our- 
selves, yet without sinning. So let us approach the throne 
of grace with confidence, that we may receive mercy and 
find grace to help us in the horn: of need. 
The Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter 

ship^" the holy Presence by virtue of the blood of Jesus, by the 
g^JJ new and living way which he has opened up for us by rend- 
thus ing the veil, that is, of his earthly nature, and since we have 
SSfed" a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with 
4*^®"' a true heart and full assurance of faith, having had our 
hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our 
bodies bathed in pure water. Let us hold the hope which 
we avow without wavering, for he is faithful who gave us 
the promise. Let us consider how we can stir up one an- 
other to love and to good deeds. 
En- Recall the former days, when, after you were enlightened, 

age^ you endured a hard struggle and much suffering. This 
from ^^^ partly because you yourselves were being held up as 
the objects of reproach and persecution and partly because 
(3^2) you made a common cause with those who were thus treated ; 
for you not only sjrmpathized with the prisoners but you 
also accepted the confiscation of your own possessions 
cheerfully, knowing that you have for yourselves more 
valuable and lasting possessions. Therefore, do not cast 
aside your confident hope, for it carries with it great reward. 
For you stand in need of patient endurance, so that, after 
doing the will of God, you may receive what you have been 
promised. 
Exam- Now faith is the assurance that we will receive that for 
of^he which we hope, the conviction of the reaUty of those things 
power which WO do not see. It was for this that the men of olden 
faith time were attested. Through faith we imderstand that the 
^*^'''^ world was fashioned by the word of God so that what is 
seen was made out of the invisible. 

252 



THE POWER OF ABEL'S FAITH 

By faith Abel offered God a more acceptable sacrifice Abei 
than Cain and thus was attested to be righteous. For God ^*^ 
gave the attestation by accepting his gifts and through this 
faith, though dead, he still speaks. 

By faith Enoch was taken to heaven, so that he did not Enoch 
die and could not be found, because God had taken him ^'"'^ 
away. For before he was taken to heaven he was attested 
to be well pleasing to God; but without faith it is impos- 
sible to be well pleasing to him, for the man who draws 
near to God must believe that he doth exist and that he 
doth reward those who earnestly try to find him. 

By faith Noah, after having been taught by God about Noah 
things still unseen, reverently constructed an ark to save ^'^ 
his household; thus he condemned the world and became 
heir of the righteousness that depends on faith. 

By faith, Abraham obeyed, when he was called to go Abra- 
forth to a place which he would receive as an inheritance, ^g^S 
and he went forth not knowing where he was to go. By "") 
faith he came and made his home in the promised land as 
in a foreign coimtry, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob 
who were co-heirs with him of the same promise. For he 
was waiting for the city which has the foundations, whose 
builder and maker is God. By faith, when Abraham was 
tested he sacrificed Isaac and was ready to sacrifice his 
only son, although he had received the promise and had 
been told. It is through Isaac that your offspring shall be 
reckoned ; yet he considered that God was able to raise men 
even from the dead. 

By faith, Moses was hidden for three months after birth Moses 
by his parents, because they saw that the child was beauti- ^"'"^ 
ful and they did not fear the royal decree. By faith Moses 
when he had grown up refused to be called the son of 
Pharaoh's daughter, preferring to endure ill-treatment with 
God's people rather than to have the passing pleasiures of 
sin, because he considered reproaches with the Messiah to 
be richer wealth than all the treasures of Egj^t; for he was 
looking for the reward. By faith he left Egyptj not because 
he feared the king's wrath, for he held on his coiurse as one 
who saw him who is invisible. By faith he instituted the 
passover that the destroying angel might not touch the first- 

253 



THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

bom of the Israelites. By faith they crossed the Red Sea, 
as through dry land; but when the Egyptians made the at- 
tempt, they were drowned. 
Rahab By faith, Rahab, the harlot, did not perish with those who 
^"^ were disobedient for she had welcomed the spies peaceably. 
other What more shall I say ? For time would fail me to tell 
he?ols* of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, of David 
fiith^ and Samuel and the prophets — they who by faith conquered 
(32-34) kingdoms, administered justice, obtained promises, shut 
the mouths of Hons, quenched the power of fire, escaped the 
edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, 
proved valiant in war and put to flight foreign armies. 
Later Women received back some as though raised from the 
^fs dead; others were broken on the wheel, refusing release 
fgr.^ that they might secure a better resurrection. Others again 
faith were tested by scoffs and scourgings; yes, and by chains 
^'' "^ and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in 
two, they were tried by temptation, they were killed by the 
sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, en- 
during want, oppressed, ill-treated (men of whom the world 
was not worthy), wanderers in the desert and among the 
hills, in caves and in holes in the ground. Through faith, 
these all were attested, but they did not obtain the promise. 
God had something better in store for us, so that apart from 
us they were not to attain full perfection. 
There- Therefore, surrounded as we are by such a great crowd 
brav? of wituesses, let us lay aside every handicap and the sin, 
and which clings so closely to us, and let us run with patient 
(i2?-8) endurance our appointed course, fixing our eyes on Jesus, 
the Pioneer and Perfecter of faith. He, for the sake 
of the joy which lay before him, patiently endured the 
cross, looking with contempt upon the shame, and is now 
seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Therefore 
consider him who steadily endures all that hostiUty from 
sinful men, so as to keep your own hearts from fainting 
and faiUng. In your struggle against sin you have not yet 
shed your blood. Have you forgotten the comforting 
message that reasons with you as with sons? 

My son, do not think Ughtly of the Lord's discipline, 
And do not faint when he correcteth you, 
254 



COMMAND TO BE BRAVE AND STAND 

For whom the Lord loveth he disciplineth, 

And scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. 

Patiently endure for the sake of discipline, 

God is dealing with you as with sons; 

For where is the son whom his father does not disci- 
pline? 

And if you are left without that discipline which all 
share, 

Then you are not sons but bastards. 

Moreover, we had our earthly fathers to discipline us, There- 
and we yielded to them ! Shall we not much more pa- submit 
tiently submit to the Father of our spirits, and so Uve? g^^.^ 
For while their discipline was only for a time and accord- disci- 
ing to their judgment, he disciphnes us for our profit that ^Sf 
we may share in his holiness. All discipline seems for the 
present to be painful not joyous; but to those who are 
trained by it, it afterwards 3delds the fruit of peace and 
righteousness. Therefore, strengthen your drooping hands 
and weak knees and make straight the paths for your feet, 
so that what is lame may not be dislocated but rather be 
made whole. 

Persistently strive for peace with all men and for that Avoid 
consecration without which no man will ever see the Lord. gS- 
CarefuUy guard lest anyone misses the grace of God, that ^jJ^S^s 
no root of bitterness grow up to trouble you and through 
it many be defiled; also that there be no fornicator or un- 
godly person like Esau, who for a single meal parted with 
his birthright. For you know how, when later on he wanted 
to secure the blessing, he was set aside, for he found no 
opportunity to repent, though he sought it earnestly with 
tears. 

For you have not come to what you can touch, to flaming The 
fire, to gloom and darkness and to storm and the blare of ^^^^t 
the trumpet, and the sound of words, such that those who ^e-^^^ 
heard it begged that no more should be added (for they the o?d 
could not bear the command. If a beast touches the moun- nSw*^^ 
tain it must be stoned). So terrible was the sight that even cove- 
Moses said, I am terrified and trembling. Rather you ^^% 
have come to Moimt Sion, the city of the hving God, the 
heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, to the festal 

255 



THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

gathering, and to the assembly of the first-bom whose 
names are recorded in heaven, to the spirits of righteous 
men made perfect, to Jesus who mediates the new cove- 
nant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks a nobler 
message than AbePs. 
There- See to it that you do not refuse to Usten to him who is 
obedi-® Speaking to you, for if they who refuse to listen to their 
|^^° earthly instructors fail to escape, how much less shall we 
divine escape if we turn a deaf ear to him who speaketh from 
^-^f)^'^ heaven. Then God's voice shook the earth, but now he 
promiseth, sajdng. Once again I will cause not only the 
earth but the heavens to quake. The phrase *once again* 
denotes the removal of those things which can be shaken as 
created things, in order that those things only which cannot 
be shaken may remain. Therefore, let us render thanks 
that we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, 
and in this way let us worship God acceptably with godly 
reverence and awe, for otu: God is indeed a consuming fire. 
Jesus, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. 
s^rit- 1^0 J^ot l^t yourselves be drawn aside by all sorts of strange 
^^land teachings, for it is well to have one's heart strengthened 
lasting by God's grace and not by special kinds of food v/hich have 
fl^"" never been of any use to those who scrupulously attend to 
(138-16) them. We have an altar from which the worshippers at 
the Jewish tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies 
of those animals whose blood is taken by the high priest 
into the holy place as a sin offering are biuned outside the 
camp. And for this reason Jesus also suffered outside the 
gate in order to sanctify the people by his blood. There- 
fore, let us go to him outside the camp, sharing his reproach, 
for we have no lasting city here below, but we seek for the 
city to come. Through him, then, let us constantly offer 
to God our sacrifice of praise, namely, the fruit of lips which 
make confession in his name. 
Bene- Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead 
^i^^l^"^ our Lord Jesus, who by the blood of the eternal covenant 
is the great Shepherd of the sheep, fully equip you with 
every good thing that you may do his will, creating in us, 
through Christ Jesus, what is acceptable in his sight. To 
him be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

256 



THE LITERARY FORM OF HEBREWS 

I. The Literary Form of the Epistle to the Hebrews. In its 

literary form and thought the so-called "Epistle to the Hebrews" 
stands in solitary grandeur among New Testament writings. Its 
only kinsmen are the speeches of Peter, Stephen, and Paul reported 
in Acts. It was evidently written by a Greek Christian. Its involved, 
often redundant sentences reveal the student rather than the man 
trained in the active stream of life. Its traditional title and the 
personal notes in the last chapter give it the semblance of an epistle; 
but there can be little doubt that it was originally addressed by word 
of mouth to a definite assembly of Christians, for it has all the char- 
acteristics of a sermon. It is faultlessly constructed as an oration 
according to the canons of the Greek rhetoricians. The impressive 
introduction is found in 1^4^^. The formal argument, which develops 
the thought that Jesus is our great high priest who enables us to enter 
the divine presence with confidence, is presented in 4^^-10^^. The 
ideas are here prevailingly expressed in the first person. The short 
passage, 10^^'^^, marks the sharp transition to the direct personal ap- 
plication. The pronoun *'you" henceforth takes the place of "we.'* 
The examples of the men of faith who have endured sufferings are 
massed impressively and dramatically in chapter 11. The general- 
izations, the logical conclusions, and the practical exhortations follow 
in 12^*2^ and 13^'^^. The elaborate benediction, which furnishes the 
appropriate conclusion to this noble sermon, is found in 13^°* '^^. The 
indications that the contents of this epistle were first presented to an 
audience within the physical as well as the mental vision of the preacher 
are many. In 5^^, for example, when he began to develop the intricate 
allegory of "the high priest with the rank of Melchizedek," some of 
his audience may well have yawned. With the intuitions of the true 
preacher he felt that their interests were suddenly relaxed, for he adds: 
"On this point I have a great deal to say which it is hard to make 
clear to you, for you have grown dull of hearing. '* Indeed, there is a 
trace of impatience in his words: "You still need someone to teach you 
once more the elementary principles of the divine revelation. You 
are in need of milk not of solid food!" But in the next paragraph he 
recovers his buoyant optimism and probably also the attention of his 
audience: "Let us go on then to what is mature, leaving elementary 
Christian doctrine behind." In 11^^ he exclaims: "Time would fail 
me to tell of Gideon" and the other heroes of the faith. It is the 
preacher, not the writer, who feels the imperative limitations of time. 
The bonds of sympathy and interest between the speaker and his 

257 



THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

audience were evidently very close. He constantly addresses them 
as "beloved" or as "brothers." In 10*^-^ he asks them to "recall the 
former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard 
struggle and much suffering." He goes on to speak of the reproaches 
which they endured, of their sympathy for those who were in prison, 
and of the cheerfulness with which they bore the confiscation of their 
possessions. Here we listen to a pastor praising and exhorting mem- 
bers of the flock which he has led through much tribulation and which 
is again facing persecution. As several scholars have observed, the 
personal notes in IS^"'^- ^^'^^' ^"^^ destroy the otherwise close-knit unity 
of the book {cf. Torrey, Journal of Bib. Lit, XXX, 137-156). The 
interest, the vocabulary, and the literary style are fundamentally 
different from those which characterize the rest of the sermon. It is 
exceedingly probable that the notes were later added to this address 
in order to give it the appearance of an epistle and to imply that it 
came from the great apostle to the Gentiles. The reference to brother 
Timothy and the salutation from the Italians support the inference 
without definitely stating that what preceded was written by Paul 
from Rome. 

II. The Authorship and History of Hebrews. Not\\dthstand- 
ing the implication of the personal notes in chapter 13, the Pauline 
authorship of Hebrews was early questioned, even by the church at 
Rome. That he is not its author is now almost universally recognized. 
While Hebrews has many points of contact with Paul's epistles, its 
thought moves on an entirely different level. Its author was a theo- 
logian, a finished orator, and a master of the Greek idiom. He was 
acquainted with the writings of Philo and the Alexandrian type of 
thought. The early conflict between Jew and Gentile had completely 
disappeared from his horizon. All the institutions and events of 
Old Testament history were to him but prophetic types of heavenly 
and future realities. He adopted without question the apostolic 
teaching that the Christians were the seed of Abraham (2^^) and the 
true people of God (4^). He quotes at length from the Greek version 
of the Old Testament, and his quotations are very exact, but he fol- 
lows guilelessly the mistakes of the Greek translators. Like most of 
the apostles, he regards the Old Testament primarily as a collection 
of predictions regarding Jesus and the triumphant progress of Chris- 
tianity. As has been truly said, the author is "a man of deep sincer- 
ity and great richness of soul." His interest in Christ, however, is 
more intellectual and not so personal as Paul's. For him Christ is 

258 



AUTHORSHIP AND HISTORY 

the great high priest who has made it possible for his followers to at- 
tain forgiveness of their sins and direct access to God. And yet the 
author of Hebrews has an intensely practical rather than a merely 
theological interest. He was endeavoring to inspire and help his 
fellow Christians who were facing bitter persecution. In the latter 
part of the famous eleventh chapter he apparcDtly has in mind the 
persecutions of Nero in 64, as well as the earlier attempt of Antiochus 
Epiphanes to wipe out Judaism. When he spoke, these events lay in 
the distant past. The persecutions which he immediately faced were 
probably those under Domitian. A date about 85 a.d. also satisfies 
in every respect the literary relationships of Hebrews. Its use by 
Clement of Rome about 100 fixes its origin in the first century. Alex- 
andria at this time undoubtedly had a large Christian community and 
this strongly Graeco-Roman city furnishes the most natural background 
for the original sermon contained in Hebrews. Either by chance or 
definite intention it was carried in time to Rome. Its high intellectual 
and spiritual values undoubtedly from the first gave it an accepted 
position in the rapidly growing collection of early Christian writings. 
When later in the second Christian century the New Testament canon 
was beginning to be definitely fixed, Hebrews lacked but one thing 
and that was the apostolic (Pauline) authority which, by implication, 
the personal notes in 13 supply. It is probable that by the middle of 
the second century Hebrews was current in its present form and had 
won its place side by side with the other New Testament epistles. 

III. The Aim of the Sermon in Hebrews. Pliny's famous 
letter to Hadrian makes clear the peril which the author of Hebrews 
was seeking^to avert. The Roman governor tells of many who were 
or had been Christians, who at his dictation prayed to the gods and 
made supplication with incense and wine to the emperor's statue, 
which Pliny had ordered to be brought into the court for this pur- 
pose. He also says: "In addition to this they cursed Christ, none of 
which things, it is said, those who are really Christians can be made to 
do." In 6"' ^ the author of Hebrews states his aim: *'It is my earnest 
desire that each of you should show his zeal to realize your full hope 
to the very end, so that instead of being slack you may imitate those 
who inherit the promises by their unswerving faith." His purpose 
is to strengthen the faith of the Christians so that they will hold fast 
to it amidst the trying temptations and persecutions that impend. All 
of his thought and teaching are focused on this definite end. In 
this respect the epistle of I Peter and Hebrews are in close accord. 

259 



THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

They are probably the outgrowth of the same great struggle. In 
preserving the faith of Christendom during this severe ordeal they 
each performed an inestimable service. 

IV. The Theme and the Development of the Thought of 
Hebrews. The text from which the sermon in Hebrews was preached 
was apparently taken from Jeremiah 31^^. It is quoted not at the 
beginning but in the heart of the sermon (8^°) : 

This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel; 

I will set my laws within their mind, 

And I will inscribe them upon their hearts, 

I will be a God to them, 

And they shall be a people to me. 

The author's thesis is that Christ, superior to all other agents sent 
by God to man, is the culmination of all preceding revelation and the 
one who has established the new and everlasting covenant between 
God and the individual. In 12^ he describes Jesus as the Pioneer 
and Perfecter of our faith. The foundations of this sermon are the 
primitive Christian beliefs and the teachings of Paul. To these are 
added the distinctive contributions of the Alexandrian type of thought. 
While there are few traces of rabbinical influence, there are many 
points of contact with the noble homily in IV Maccabees which at 
about the same period was either preached as a sermon or sent out as 
a general epistle. Possibly both emanate from Alexandria. Both 
accept the belief in atonement for sin. This doctrine was in fact a 
fixed tenet of contemporary Judaism. In both of these homilies faith 
is conceived of, not in the Pauline sense of mystical fellowship with God, 
but as a belief in the providential rulership of the world (c/. IV Mac. 
15^, 16^). Both also illustrate their teachings by the example of the 
Old Testament heroes. 

To a modern reader the first, the doctrinal part of the sermon in 
Hebrews, is the least convincing. The picture of the exalted Christ 
in the opening paragraphs undoubtedly represents the beliefs of a 
majority of the Christian church at the close of the first century. 
Already the roots of this doctrine have been traced through Paul and 
the early apostles back to the Jewish apocalypses. The author of 
Hebrews has evidently arrived at the same beliefs by a different way. 
Following the Alexandrian teachers and especially Philo, who inter- 
preted the entire Old Testament allegorically, he drew chiefly from the 
Psalms the proofs of Jesus* divine nature. The present age is par- 

260 



THEME AND DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT 

ticularly impatient with the use of proof texts, especially when they are 
torn from their context and given an interpretation entirely foreign to 
that in the mind of the original writer. Thus, for example, in l^'^*^ 
he quotes from Psalm 102^^2^, which was clearly addressed to Jehovah, 
for the original psalm begins in ": 

Thou, Jehovah, art enthroned forever. 
And thy fame is to all generations. 

As uniformly in the Greek text (which the author of Hebrews fol- 
lowed) "Jehovah" was translated "Lord." This fact alone explains 
his interpretation of the psalm as a description of Christ's character 
and crealive work. The passage is significant because it throws clear 
light on one of the ways in which the creed of the later church de- 
veloped. It also explains why there is such a vast difference between 
the simple, vivid picture of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels and the 
elaborate Christology of these later writers. Throughout the opening 
chapters of Hebrews the logic is largely that of the Alexandrian al- 
legorical school, which was inclined to find a symbolic meaning in 
every Old Testament phrase and figure. Even though the author of 
Hebrews feared that his audience might fall asleep in the process, he 
developed at length his allegory regarding Melchizedek, the king of 
Salem, finding in the meaning of each of these titles symbolic sugges- 
tions of the character and work of the future Messiah. To his hearers, 
however, this allegorical method of interpretation was undoubtedly 
as convincing as that of the modern biblical interpreter is to the 
present generation. In estimating the permanent value of Hebrews, 
it is important to remember that the author's aim was not doctrinal 
but practical. In describing the character and work of Jesus he used 
the terms and figures which were most intelligible and impressive to 
his hearers. The conclusion of his doctrinal introduction is found in 
1Q19-31 j^s great central teaching is in perfect harmony with the 
teaching of Paul and the gospel narratives, and is as true as it is sig- 
nificant: Jesus by his work has rendered unnecessary all the compli- 
cated rites which were associated with the ancient covenant and has 
made it possible for each individual to enter into personal, intimate 
fellowship with God himself. The thought in the remainder of the 
sermon moves on a high intellectual and spiritual plane. The au- 
thor's noble array of the heroes of the faith has been the inspiration 
of millions of tried and tempted souls through the ages. With the 
true instincts of the preacher he has included women as well as men in 

261 



The 
pur- 



THE EARLY CHRISTIAN SERMON IN HEBREWS 

tliis list. Even Rahab, the harlot, rises to bear testimony to the 
power of faith to transform a wasted, impure Ufe. Faith, as thus 
concretely defined, is not only intellectual belief but trust and loyalty 
expressed in life and acts. Thus it is that our author supplements 
Paul's mystical, though more spiritual conception of faith, and imparts 
to it a practical, kinetic quality. 

V. The Charm and Power of Hebrews. Undoubtedly the 
sermon in Hebrews brought conviction and inspiration to the perse- 
cuted Christians who first heard it. It has also contributed much to 
the beliefs of the Christian church. It is to-day one of the ten or 
twelve great books of the New Testament. Its charm lies not merely 
in its majestic rolling sentences. Its power is certainly not dependent 
upon its logic. Unlike many of Paul's epistles, its appeal is not pri- 
marily to the emotions. Its charm and power lie rather in its dauntless, 
courageous spirit and in the marvellously effective way in which the 
author has rallied the forces which engender faith and steadfast en- 
durance in the presence of temptation and trial. It is interesting to 
analyze these forces. The first is Christ's triumphant exaltation 
and his superiority to angels and men. The second is his sympathy 
with our trials and temptations, for he himself has shared them. The 
third is his supreme achievement in having made access to and fellow- 
ship with God possible and easy for every individual, however bur- 
dened with sins. The fourth is that he has swept away the cumber- 
some forms of the old covenant and established a new and simpler 
relation between God and man. The fifth is that the Christian, if 
he proves faithless, will forfeit thereby all hope for the future. The 
sixth is that past experience has shown that Christ's followers have the 
power to endure even the most terrible trials and persecutions. The 
seventh is the inspiring example of the long list of heroes who, through 
faith, have achieved. The eighth is the supreme example of Jesus 
himself. Thus the ultimate charm and power of Hebrews lie not in 
its theology nor its rhetoric but in its ability to inspire heroic, self- 
sacrificing faith in God and undying loyalty to the principles of Jesus. 

§CLXVn. THE VISIONS OF THE ULTIMATE VICTORY OF 
CHRISTIANITY IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 



pose A revelation by Jesus Christ, which God granted him 

?lvSi that he might make known to his servants what must 
tion quickly come to pass. He disclosed it by sending it through 
i5.7' Jiis angel, to his servant John, who bore witness as to what is 

262 



THE PURPOSE OF REVELATION 

the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even 
to what he saw. Blessed is he who reads and blessed are 
they who hear the words of this prophecy and lay to heart 
the things which are written in it, for the time is near. 

John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. May Greet- 
grace be granted to you and peace from him who is and ^%a) 
was and is forevermore, and from the seven spirits before 
his throne and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful wit- 
ness, the first-bom from the dead and the ruler of the kings 
of the earth. 

To him who loves us and who has freed us from our sins Ascnp- 
by his own blood and made us a Kingdom, to be priests to pSLe^ 
his God and Father, to him be glory and power for ever and g>^ 
ever. Amen. Lo, he is coming on the clouds and every (^b-s) 
eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and the tribes 
of earth will mourn over him. Even so. Amen. I am the 
Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, he who is and 
was and is forevermore the Almighty. 

On the Lord's day I was in the Spirit, and I heard a loud The 
voice behind me like a trumpet calling. Write what you see ^^"^ 
in a book and send it to the seven churches. to 

To the angel at the church at Ephesus write : I know your (^"a) 
deeds, your toil and j'^oiu: patient endurance. *And I know The 
that you cannot tolerate wicked men and that you have io^^ffe 
tested those who called themselves apostles but are not Ephe- 
and have found them to be Uars. And I know that you are (2^^*. 
enduring patiently and have borne up for my sake and ^^ 
have not grown weary. Yet I have this against you: you 
have given up yotu: first love. Let anyone who has ears 
listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: To him who 
overcomes I will grant to eat from the tree of life which is 
in the paradise of God.' 

To the angel of the church at Sm5mia write: These are Tothe 
the words of the First and Last, he who is dead and has at^^^ 
returned to life: *I know yotu: distress and poverty (but smyr- 
you are rich!). I know how you are being slandered by ?8^") 
those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a mere 
synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to 
suffer. The devil, indeed is going to throw some of you into 
prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will 

263 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

have to endure distress. Be faithful even to death and I 
will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has ears 
listen to what the Spirit says to the churches: He who 
overcomes shall not be injured by the second death.' 
To the To the angel of the church at Pergamum write: These 
at Per^ ^f© the words of him who has the sharp, two-edged sword : 
fu^^ * I know where you dwell. Satan's throne is there ; and 
yet you are loyal to my name and have not renounced 
your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my witness 
and faithful servant, who was put to death among you in 
the place where Satan dwells.' 
To the To the angel of the church at Thyatira write: These are 
atThy- the words of the Son of God who has eyes like a flame of 
(Sff» ^^® ^^d whose feet are like burnished brass : * I know yoiu: 
S5)' deeds, your love, your faith, your service, and your patient 
endurance. I know that of late you are doing more than 
you did at first. Only hold fast to what you have tmtil I 
come.' 
To the To the angel of the church at Sardis write : These are the 
church ^Qi-(is Qf him who holds the seven spirits of God and the 
Sardis seveu stars : * I know your deeds ; you have the name of 
being aUve but are dead. Be watchful, rally what is still 
left, though it is about to perish; for I have foimd none of 
your deeds complete in the eyes of God. Now, re- 
member, those teachings which you have received and 
heard, hold to them and repent. If you will not be watch- 
ful, I will come Hke a thief and you will not know at what 
hour I will come upon you. Still you have a few names in 
Sardis of those who have not soiled their garments. They 
will walk beside me in white, for they are worthy.' 
To the To the angel of the chturch at Philadelphia write: These 
at Fmt are the words of the faithful and Holy One who has the key 
adei- of David, who opens and none shall shut and shuts and none 
(*7,8^io) shall open: * I know your deeds. See, I have set an open 
door before you which no one is able to shut, for though 
you have little strength, you have kept my word, you have 
not renounced my name. Because you have kept my word 
through your patient endurance, I will keep you safe from 
the hour of trial which is coming upon the whole world to 
test the dwellers on earth.' 

264 



LETTER TO THE CHURCH AT LAODICEA 

To the angel of the church at Laodicea write : These are To the 
the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the at LaS- 
beginning of God*s creation: *I know your deeds; you are ^cea 
neither cold nor hot — ^would that you were either cold or " ")' 
hot! So because you are luke-warm, neither hot nor cold, 
I am going to spit you out of my mouth. I reprove and 
disciplhie Siose whom I love; therefore be in earnest and 
repent. Lo, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone 
listens to my voice and opens the door, I will come in to 
him and sup with him and he with me. To him who over- 
comes I will grant to sit beside me on my throne, as I myself 
have overcome and sat down with my Father on his throne. 
Let anyone who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to 
the churches.* 

After this I looked, and there was a door standing open The 
in heaven. And the first voice which I had heard talking S^ood 
with me like a trumpet said. Come up here, and I will show seated 
you what must come to pass after these things. Immedi- Seav-^ 
ately I found myself in the Spirit, and lo, a throne stood in tSSne 
heaven and One sitting on the throne who resembled in ^*'-'' 
appearance jasper and sardius. And around the throne 
there was a rainbow, resembling emeralds in appearance, 
and also around the throne were twenty-four other thrones 
and on these thrones were seated twenty-four elders, clad 
in white robes with golden crowns upon Aeir heads. From 
the throne there come flashes of lightning and peals of 
thimder, while in front of the throne seven blazing torches 
are burning, which are the seven spirits of God. And in 
front of the throne there appears to be a sea of glass, re- 
sembling crystal, and on each side of the throne sSl around 
it are four Uving creatures, full of eyes before and behind. 
And day and night they never cease sajdng. 

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, 
Who was and is and ever more shall be. 

The 

Then in the midst of the throne and before the living and^*^ 

creatures I saw a Lamb standing among the elders. And ff^^ 

I looked and heard the voice of many angels round the ^i^^^^. 

throne and the living creatures and the elders, numbering ") "' 

265 



of the 
trium- 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

myriads of m3niads and thousands of thousands, cr3ring 
aloud, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive 
power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and 
glory and blessing. And I heard every creature in heaven 
and on earth and under the earth and on the sea and all 
things that are in them, crying. To him who is seated on 
the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and 
glory and dominion for ever and ever. And the four living 
creatiu-es said. Amen. And the elders fell down and wor- 
shipped. 
The After that I looked, and there was a vast host which no 

|J5e" one could coimt, from every nation and tribe and people and 
vSi^coH. tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, 
clad in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. 
And they cried aloud, saying. It is to our God who is seated 
pliant on the throne and to the Lamb that we owe our salvation ! 
(79^10. Then one of the elders addressed me, sajdng. Who are 
"•"'"^ these clad in white robes, whence have they come? I said 
to him. You know, my Lord. So he told me. These are the 
people who have come out of the great distress and washed 
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 
For this reason they are now before the throne of God and 
serve him day and night within his temple. 

He who is sitting on the throne will shelter them in 

his tent; 
Never again will they be himgry or thirsty. 
Never again will the sun or any scorching heat smite 

them; 
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their 

shepherd. 
And will guide them to fovmtains of living water; 
And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 

The 

Baby-^ Then I saw another angel flying in mid-heaven, with an 
lonand etemal gospel to proclaim to the inhabitants of the earth, 
who°^^ to every nation, tribe, language and people. He cried 
SSpped aloud. Fear God, give him glory, for the hour of his judgment 
the is come. Worship him who made heaven and earth, the 
(u^ii) sea and the fountains of water. And another, a second 

266 



THE FATE OF BABYLON 

angel followed, crying, Fallen, fallen is Babylon, the great. 
She who made sil nations drink the wine of wrath pro- 
voked by her vice ! And then another, a third angel fol- 
lowed these, crying aloud. Whoever worships the Beast and 
his image or receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand 
shall drink the wine of God*s wrath which stands ready un- 
mixed in the cup of his fury and shall be tortured with fire 
and brimstone before the holy angels and the Lamb. And 
the smoke of their torture goes up for ever and ever, and 
they get no rest from it day and night — the worshippers of 
the Beast and his statue and all who receive the mark of 
his name. This is what reveals the patient endurance of the 
saints who keep God's commands and the faith of Jesus ! 

Then I heard a voice from heaven sajdng. Write this: The 
Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from henceforth! ol^g? 
Even so, says the Spirit; let them rest from their labors; f^*^"* 
for what they have done goes with them. 

Then I saw heaven open wide and there was a white The 
horse. Its rider was named Faithful and True, and he JSmer 
righteously judges and makes war. His eyes are a flame J^f.l8^ 
of fire and on his head are many diadems. He has a name 
inscribed upon him, known to no one but himself. He is 
clad in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of 
God. The armies of heaven follow him on white horses, 
clothed in fine linen, white and spotless. From his mouth 
proceeds a sharp sword wherewith [to smite the nations, 
and he will shepherd them with a rod of iron and tread the 
wine-press with the fierce anger of God Almighty. On his 
robe and on his thigh his name is written : 

KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS 

And I saw the Beast and the kings of earth and their The 
armies assembled to make war on him who was seated on stnic- 
a horse and against his army. But the Beast was seized, ^on ^ 
together with the false prophet who had done signs before Sumln 
him by means of which he seduced those who received the ^Js 
mark of the Beast and worshipped his statue. Both of ("-'^) 
them were cast alive into the lake of fire that bums with 
brimstone, and the rest were killed by the sword which 

267 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

came forth from the mouth of him who was seated on the 

horse. 

Final Then I saw a great white throne and One was seated on 

rSSon it from whose presence earth and sky fled away and no 

and place was found for them; and I saw the dead, great and 

ment small, Standing before the throne. And the books were 

(20"-i6) Qpgjj^ — ^gQ another book, the book of life, was open. And 

the dead were judged by what was written in these books 

according to their deeds. And the sea also gave up its 

corpses and Death and Hades gave up their dead; and all 

were judged according to their deeds. Then Death and 

Hades were cast into the lake of fire (this is the second 

death — ^the lake of fire). And everyone who was not foimd 

enrolled in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

God's Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first 

dow?^ heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea 

to is no more. And I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, 

among comiug down from God out of heaven, all ready hke a bride 

gi?^) s arrayed for her husband, and I heard a loud voice out of 

the throne saying. 

Behold God*s dwelling place is with men, 

And he wifl dwell among them, 

And they shall be his people. 

Yea, God himself will be among them. 

And he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, 

And death shall be no more; 

No sorrow nor wailing nor pain. 

For the first things have passed away. 

And he who was seated on the throne said, 

Behold, I am making all things new ! 

And he added. Write this: 

These words are faithful and true. 

The I saw no temple in the city, 

divine _ - 

pres 



For its temple is the Lord Almighty and the Lamb. 



ence The city has no need of the sun, 

the Nor of the moon to give it Hght, 

(aX) For the glory of God illumines it, 

And the lamp thereof is the Lamb. 

268 



THE DIVINE PRESENCE 

By its light will the nations walk, 
And into it will the kings of earth bring their glory. 
Its gates will never be shut by day, 
For there wiU be no night there. 
They will bring into it 3ie glory and honor of nations, 
But nothing unclean shall ever enter it, 
Nor any one who practises abomination or falsehood. 
Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's 
book of life. 

Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright The 

as crystal, flowing through the streets of the city from the and^ 

throne of God and of the Lamb. On both sides of the river ^f^ ®^ 

grew the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, each (221. «) 
month yielding its own fruit. And the leaves of the tree 
serve to heal the nations. 

None who was accursed will remain there; The , 

But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, ?fth? i 
And his servants will render him holy service, ^^^ 

And they will look upon his face, («) 

And his name will be on their foreheads. 
And there will be no more night there. 
And they will have no need of the light of lamp or sun, 
For the Lord God will illumine them; 
And they will reign for ever and ever. 

Then he said to me, do not seal up the word of the its 
prophecy of this book, for the time is near. coSkig 

(lO-U) 

Let the wicked still be wicked, 
Let the filthy still be filthy. 
Let the righteous still do right, 
Let the holy still be holy. 
Behold I am coming quickly. 
And my reward is with me. 
To reward each one for what he has done. 
I am the Alpha and the Omega, 
The First and the Last, 
The Beginning and the End. 
Blessed are those who wash their robes, 
269 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

That theirs may be the right to the tree of life, 
That they may go through the gates into the city. 
Without are tide dogs and the sorcerers, 
The fornicators, the murderers, and the idolaters, 
And everyone who loves and practises falsehood. 

wOTid- ^» Jesus, have sent my angel to testify these things to 
^de ' you for the churches. 

invita- 

fu^n) I am the Root and the Offspring of David, 

The bright, the morning Star. 
The Spirit and the Bride say, Come, 
And he who hears, let him say. Come; 
And let the thirsty come. 
Whoever will, let him take the water of life freely. 

I. The Aim of the Book of Revelation. Through the ages the 
book of Revelation has been the stumbling-block of the reaUst and 
the delight of the mystic. Hundreds of volumes have been written 
interpreting its symbolism. Its magic phrases have been interwoven 
in Christian hymns and the devotional life of the church; but for 
the majority of men and women to-day it is a sealed book — sealed so 
tightly that they pass it by with calm unconcern. It represents the 
opposite pole of thought from that of the present historical, scientific 
age. Its literary antecedents are the apocalypses of Ezekiel, Zech- 
ariah, and the closing chapters of Daniel. Its author was a poet and 
a dreamer; but, like the authors of I Peter and Hebrews, his aim was 
intensely practical. The hopes, which he clothes in his highly sym- 
bolic visions, were the common property of the primitive church. 
Paul frequently alluded to them. In the second chapter of II Thes- 
salonians he presents these hopes in detail. The authors of I Peter 
and Hebrews were constantly reminding their readers that "the end 
of all is near." These apocalyptic hopes, as have been noted, were a 
part of their Jewish inheritance. But the attitude of the Grseco- 
Roman world was also that of expectancy. The greater the prevailing 
vice and suffering, the more ardently Jew and Gentile hoped and be- 
lieved that a great world upheaval was near. In his preface the 
author of Revelation states that his purpose was to "show what must 
soon come to pass." But his aim was not merely to satisfy the curiosity 
of his fellow Christians; it was to prevent their accepting the false 
teachings and teachers to which he refers in his opening exhortations 

270 



THE AIM OF THE BOOK 

to the seven churches. It was to keep the tempted Christians through- 
out the world from bowing down to the Beast which represented 
Rome and the emperor-worship. It was to hold up so vividly before 
them the rewards of future blessedness awaiting the faithful that they 
would resist persecution even to death. This strange book is saturated 
with the spirit and the ideals that actuated the early Christian martyrs. 
It dramatizes the mighty conflict between Christianity and heathen- 
dom. Its appeal is not primarily to the reason but to the emotions. 
It was well calculated to stir the enthusiasms, to call forth deeds of 
heroic self-sacrifice, and to buoy up the martyr at the stake. The 
author, like all the other apocalyptic writers, was also inspired by an 
ethical aim. In the bitter conflict between Christianity and heathen- 
dom the righteousness of the divine Ruler of the universe was at the 
stake. Our author, like the immortal poet who has given us the book 
of Job, asserts his invincible conviction that God is just and good 
and that he will in the end vindicate, not only his righteous servants, 
but his own eternal justice. 

II. The Theme and Literary Character of the Book of Reve- 
lation. In this book we have a stupendous world drama set forth in 
the form of an epistle. Under the influence of Paul's brilliant example, 
later Christian authors and editors evidently felt that this was the 
only acceptable way in which to gain authority and general accept- 
ance for their teachings. The personal notes in the introduction (1-3) 
and in the epilogue (22^^*^^) are loosely connected with the rest of the 
book. After 1-3 the geographical background of the book is not 
Asia Minor but Palestine. These introductory and concluding notes 
were apparently added to give to the book the semblance of an epistle. 
Its theme is Christianity's long and painful struggle with paganism 
and the organized forces of evil and its ultimate triumph. Revelation 
also objectifies and dramatizes the great truth that the supreme power 
at work in the regeneration of human society is the spirit and work of 
the Christ and the heroic self-sacrifice which he exemplifies and in 
turn inspires. Such a dramatic foreshortening of history possesses a 
unique value, for it enables us to see the great historic movements in 
their genetic relations and in their real significance. The book of 
Revelation is, therefore, a fitting conclusion to the Bible, which be- 
gins with a description of the creation of the universe and a setting forth 
of the divine purpose, for it gives a glorious pictm'e of the ultimate 
realization of that purpose. The book is a composite of dissolving 
visions, all blended together like the different motifs in a grand ora- 

271 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

torio. Bold figures and strange symbols, with which we have become 
partially familiar in the Old Testament prophecies and in contempo- 
rary Jewish literatm-e, confront us at every point. The picture of a 
woman arrayed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on 
her head a crown of twelve stars, seems but the dream of a mere vision- 
ary unless we are acquainted with the literary and intellectual atmos- 
phere which produced it. A leading characteristic of the apocal^-ptic 
literature is that historic forces and movements are represented largely 
by symbols drawn from the animal or natural world. Not only is 
the imagery exceedingly dramatic, but the action is rapid and on a 
broad scale. The whole is distinctly impressionistic. It is impossible 
to visualize many of these pictures notwithstanding their seeming con- 
creteness. If we could see in our mental vision an objective city of 
gold with walls of jasper and twelve huge gates, each made of a single 
pearl, and yet the whole transparent like glass, we would fail com- 
pletely to appreciate the author's purpose. The language is that of 
mysticism and it speaks almost wholly to the feelings. As the late 
Professor James has said, in commenting upon these visions: "They 
stir chords within us which music and language touch in conmion.'* 

III. The Authorship and Date of the Book of Revelation. 
Another marked characteristic of the apocalyptic writings is that they 
were all (except the Shepherd of Hermas) published anonymously or 
rather under the pseudonym of some earlier saint who was supposed 
to have possessed the power of predicting the future. Thus the 
score or more of extant Jewish apocalypses are all later than 200 B.C., 
but bear the names of Enoch, Noah, Daniel, Baruch, and Ezra, who 
lived long before. From Christian sources comes the Apocalypse of 
Peter, of which a fragment has recently been discovered. Although 
at one period it nearly gained a place in the New Testament canon, 
it is now universally recognized as pseudonymous. It is probable 
that the book of Revelation is no exception to this otherwise universal 
rule. The account in Mark IP^- ^^ of a request of the disciples James 
and John that they be allowed to sit one on Jesus' right hand and the 
other on his left in his glory, reveals an apocalyptic interest which 
would naturally lead a later Christian writer to single out these two 
disciples as the most natural medium for revelations regarding the 
future. The early death of the apostle James was a well-known fact 
of primitive Christian history. The martyrdom of his brother John, 
though clearly implied by the early traditions, was not so firmly es- 
tablished. Hence he who was Jesus* favorite disciple would most 

272 



AUTHORSHIP AND DATE 

naturally be selected from the Twelve as the one to whom to ascribe 
later visions. That he is the author of the book of Revelation is not 
clearly stated but strongly implied in its opening chapters. The 
possibility, of course, remains that it was the work of another John. 
John, the presbyter of Ephesus, is held by many scholars to be its 
author. It is probable that the book was written in Ephesus, but the 
internal evidence is decisive that it is not from the same author that 
wrote the Fourth Gospel. The language and idioms of the two books 
are fundamentally different. Revelation is an Hebraic wTiting tran- 
scribed rather than translated into popular, Hellenistic Greek. As 
Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria in the middle of the third century, says, 
after describing the distinctive characteristics of the Gospel of John: 
"Utteriy diverse and strange is the apocalypse in comparison with 
all this, hardly touching or even approximating to any of these things, 
having no common relation to them.'* The God of Revelation is not 
the loving Father of the Fourth Gospel but a majestic King sitting in 
solemn state to receive the homage of his human subjects. Very 
different also is the portrait of Jesus. In the book of Revelation the 
note of love is almost lacking. It reverses the words of Jesus in John 
15^^: "I call you servants no longer. ... I call you friends." The 
indications that the book was \vTitten near the close of the first Chris- 
tian century are cumulative. It probably contains fragments of an 
eariier Christian apocalypse coming from the reign of Nero, but it 
also reflects the popular belief, current in the latter part of the century, 
that Nero, the arch persecutor of the Christians, had again come back 
to life and was instigating a new and more horrible persecution (17^). 
The dark and ominous horizon revealed in this book has all the char- 
acteristics of the latter part of the reign of Domitian. Then not 
only the Christians of Rome but all throughout the empire were ex- 
posed to constant temptation and many to active persecution. The 
Beast and his statue, which had many worshippers (qf. 14^^), are ap- 
parently but veiled allusions to Domitian and to his vigorous campaign 
against all Christians who refused publicly to acknowledge his divine 
authority. The book of Revelation, therefore, may with reasonable 
confidence be attributed to an otherwise unknown Christian prophet 
who wrote about 95 B.C., and like the writers of the Gospel and epistles 
of John belonged to the Johannine school, who were strongly influenced 
by John, the presbyter of Ephesus. 

IV. The Contents and Sources of Revelation. The general 
divisions of the book of Revelation are obvious. Chapters 1-3 contain 

273 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

letters to seven important churches in the province of Asia. In 4^ 
11^^ are found preliminary visions of coming judgment. Chapters 
ll'^^20^^ describe in vivid apocalyptic form the overthrow of Rome 
and of Satan. The culmination of the book is a description, in 21, 22, 
of the new and heavenly reign which is to be instituted on earth when 
the preliminary work of destruction has been completed. Into the 
body of the book have been woven many older apocalypses and apoca- 
lyptic themes, but they all lead up to one grand, final crescendo. Thus, 
for example, the vision in 4 of Jehovah seated high on his throne, 
guarded by four beasts, each with six wings, who cry, "Holy, holy, 
holy, Lord God Almighty," is an expansion of Isaiah's magnificent 
vision (recorded in Isaiah 6). The Old Testament student also rec- 
ognizes in the succeeding visions the four living beings of Ezekiel 1, 
the four horns of Zechariah 1 ; in 14, vivid descriptions of the day of 
judgment drawn from Zephaniah and Joel. The glowing picture of 
the New Jerusalem is suggested by Isaiah 49-54. The figures and 
symbols of Daniel 7-12 also reappear at many points. In Revelation 
11-13 and 18 there are traces of older Jewish apocalypses, which have 
been only slightly revised and adjusted to their new Christian setting. 
Thus, for example, the command in 11^* ^ "to rise up and measure the 
temple of God and the altar" strongly implies that this was first WTitten 
before the destruction of the Jewish temple in 70 a.d. Furthermore, 
in the symbolism there are unmistakable traces of older Babylonian 
and Persian myths. The sun and moon and the five planets are 
probably to be identified with the seven astral deities of the Baby- 
lonian pantheon. Corresponding to these are the seven spirits in 1^ 
and the seven angels in 8^. The huge red dragon, with its seven heads 
and seven horns and seven diadems upon its heads, which "with his 
tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and flung them to the 
earth," probably represents the later Jewish version of the old Baby- 
lonian story of Tiamat, personified chaos, that contended against the 
gods. In Revelation 12, "that old serpent is called the Devil and 
Satan, the seducer of the whole earth." He is overthrown by the angels 
of heaven, led by Michael, who in the book of Daniel figures as Israel's 
patron angel. 

V. The Interpretation of the Book of Revelation. Inter- 
preters of Revelation are divided inito two distinct groups. The first 
includes those who disregard the fact that a fundamental characteristic 
of the apocalyptic type of literature is the presentation of past and 
present history as though it were still future. Therefore, they regard 

274 



ITS INTERPRETATION 

the visions as predictions yet to be fulfilled and interpret them liter- 
alistically. The second group interpret the visions in the light of the 
conditions that obtained during the first Christian century and seek 
to find the underlying principles which they illustrate. The first 
group rarely agree in their detailed interpretations, for they ignore the 
historical background and are guided almost wholly by ingenious con- 
jecture. Their followers are usually of the mystical, enigmatical type 
of mind that scorns scientific methods of research. The second group 
follow the only method that promises to give a true understanding of 
the thought and purpose of the original writer. The selection of 
seven churches is probably because seven is a part of the prevaiHng sym- 
bolism of the book. The churches mentioned first are situated in the 
three leading cities along the eastern iEgean. The order is from south 
to north: Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum; then from north to 
south, including representative inland towns. Each of these churches 
had on the whole proved faithful. The allusion to *' Satan's throne" 
is probably due to the fact that Pergamum was the old capital of the 
province of Asia and was therefore the traditional centre of the emperor- 
worship. Since 29 B.C. it had also had a flourishing temple dedicated 
to Augustus or Rome. 

Chapters 4-6 contain the impressive introduction to the great world 
drama. In 5 the Almighty is pictured, seated on his throne, attended 
by angels and worshipped by the representatives of the church. In 5 
the figure of the "Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Scion of David" 
looms up impressively. He proves to be none other than "the Lamb 
that seemed to have been slain." This unique description of the 
Messiah is evidently taken from Isaiah 53'^ ("as a lamb that is led to 
the slaughter"). In 6 the agents of death appear. In these opening 
chapters the poet brings out with great dramatic effectiveness the 
tremendous contrast between the bitter conflict that was then raging 
and that was destined to rage between the chm-ch and the empire, and 
the peace and majesty in heaven above. Chapter 7, which represents 
a digression from the main theme, introduces another element of con- 
trast, for it gives an anticipatory vision of the countless hosts of the 
servants of God. It is evidently introduced to give the reader an 
assurance of the ultimate outcome of the great conflict. 

The recurrence of the number seven gives a certain literary unity to 
the book. Not only are there seven letters to seven churches from 
the seven spirits before the divine throne, but the scroll which con- 
tains the record apparently of the sins of mankind is sealed by seven 

275 



VISIONS IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION 

seals. At the breaking of each of these seals a new judgment is visited 
upon the earth. The breaking of the seventh seal (8^-^) is the prelude 
to the blowing of seven trumpets that announce the world judgment. 
Each blast introduces one of the natural portents, which were associ- 
ated in apocalyptic thought with the end of the world. The blowing 
of the sixth trumpet marked the destruction of Jerusalem (IP-^*). 
With the blowing of the seventh trumpet, the scene is transferred 
temporarily from earth to heaven. This last blast inaugurates the 
titanic struggle between the hosts of good and e\'il. Here the author 
weaves in many of the figures of the old mythology and it is difficult 
to be absolutely sure of his meaning at every point. Chapter 12 is 
the most difficult in the book. The people of promise, of whom the 
Christians are the lineal heirs, is apparently represented by the woman 
clad in the sun with the moon under her feet. The male child to whom 
she gives birth, who is to "shepherd all the nations with an iron flail 
and who was caught up to God and to his throne," is clearly the Mes- 
siah or Lamb whose victorious role is later described. The first of 
the two Beasts, which emerge in 13, represents Rome and the emperor- 
worship; the second Beast her zealous provincial priesthood that had 
** every one put to death who would not worship the statue of the 
Beast and obliges all men low and high, rich and poor, freemen and 
slaves alike, to have a mark put upon their right hand or forehead so 
that no one can buy or sell unless he bears the mark, that is the name 
of the Beast." The cipher 666 is the total of the numerical values 
represented by the Hebrew letters of the name Csesar Neron (k = 100, 
s = 60, r = 200, n = 50, r = 200, w = 6, and n = 50; making 666). 
This identification is confirmed by the fact that in the old Latin 
version, where Nero is written without the final n (which equals 50), 
the number is 616, representing again the exact total of the Hebrew 
letters. Chapter 14^'^ is another of those marvellous digressions which 
stir the imagination and hope of the reader and anticipate the final 
victory recorded in 21 and 22. In 14^-2o the theme of judgment is 
again taken up, and in ^^'^^ the final judgment recorded in the succeed- 
ing chapters is anticipated. In 15^-16^ the scene is transferred again 
to earth. The seven angels with seven bowls represent the seven 
plagues which are poured out upon earth. Again the seventh is the 
culmination. This last bowl is emptied upon Rome, the woman 
with seven heads, which represented the seven hills on which she was 
seated and the seven kings who ruled over her (17^- ^°). The eighth 
head is apparently to be identified with Domitian. The ten horns 

276 



ITS INTERPRETATION 

possibly stand for the angelic being which will fight for her at the 
great final conflict. The vivid description of the overthrow of Rome 
in 18 was largely suggested by the II Isaiah's lament over fallen Baby- 
lon (Isaiah 47), and that of Ezekiel over Tyre (Ezek. 26, 27). Chapter 
19^-1° contains another of the wonderful anticipatory visions of the 
certain vindication of the faithful. It furnishes an effective contrast 
to the powerful description of the final overthrow of the Beast and of 
Satan in 19ii-20i5. 

The culminating scene of this tremendous drama (21^-22^^^) is one 
of the most poetic and powerful passages in literature. Here all the 
noblest promises found in the Old Testament prophets are presented 
in one stupendous, concrete picture. The underlying thought is that 
after all the evil in the earth has been swept away by the purifying 
fires of judgment, God himself will come to dwell among his faithful 
people and to satisfy their every want. Jew and Gentile will share 
alike in the privileges of this ideal commonwealth in which ** nothing 
unclean shall enter, nor any one who practises abomination or false- 
hood." Like Paul, the author of Revelation is endeavoring to portray 
objectively the ideal of the Kingdom of God, the community of the 
morally and socially redeemed, that Jesus held up before his followers. 
It is this picture of the perfect social state, as the final goal of creation, 
which gives to the book its perennial value for all generations. 

§ CLXVm. THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM OF THE EPISTLE OF 

JAMES 

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to Greet- 
the twelve tribes m the dispersion, greeting. Uames 

Count it as pure joy, my brothers, whenever you find i') 
yourselves hedged about by various trials. Be sure that The 
the testing of your faith produces endturanee ; only let your ^^^^^s 
endurance be a finished product that you may be perfect and faith 
complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, ^'"^^ 
let him ask God who giveth to all men liberally and without 
reproach, and it shall be given him. Only let him ask in 
faith, with never a doubt; for the man who doubts is like 
a surge of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. Let not 
that man think that from the Lord he will receive anjrthing, 
double-minded that he is, imstable in all his ways. 

Let a brother of low position rejoice when he is raised up; 

277 



THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM IN JAMES 

The but also let one who is rich rejoice in being brought low, 
J3Sy for he will pass away like the flower of the grass, for the sun 
rfches ^^^^ ^^*^ *^® scorching wind and the grass withers, its 
(9-11) flower drops off, and the beauty of its appearance perishes. 
So shall the rich fade away in the midst of their undertakings. 
The Happy is the man who endures tmder trial; for when he 

nSure ^^s stood the test he will receive the crown of life which is 
temp- P^oniised to all who love God. Let no one say, when he is 
tation being tried by temptation, I am being tempted by God; for 
(12-1^) QqjI is incapable of being tempted by evil and he tempts 
no one. Everyone is tempted as he is carried away and 
lured by his own desire; then desire conceives and bears 
sin and when sin is fully matured it gives birth to death. 
God's My beloved brothers, do not be deceived: every gift is 
^y good and every endowment is perfect, coming down from 
good above, from the Father who is the source of all love, with 
whom there is no variation nor shadow of change. In ac- 
cordance with his own will he brought us forth by the 
word of truth, in order that we might be a kind of first- 
fruits among his creatures. 
The Know this, my beloved brothers. Therefore, let every 

gty^f man be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to be angry; for 
control ^^^"^^^ anger does not lead to what God regards as right. 
(il%) So ridding yourselves of all that is vile and of the evil that 
aboimds, receive humbly the message implanted within you 
which is able to save your souls. 
Of Act on the word instead of merely hearing it and deluding 

enc?' yourselves. For, if any one hears but does not act, he is 
(22-25) lyjg ^ jj^^j^ ^jjQ looks at his natmral face in a mirror, for he 
looks at himself, goes off and at once forgets what he was 
like. But he who looks intently at the perfect law of free- 
dom and continues looking, proving himself to be no forget- 
ful hearer, but an active doer, will be blessed in his activity. 
The If any one thinks he is religious and does not bridle his 

^^re^^ tongue but deceives himself, his reUgion is worthless. The 
Ufion reHgion that is pure and stainless in the sight of God the 
Father is this: to care personally for orphans and widows 
in their trouble and to keep oneself imspotted from the 
world. 
My brothers, as you beUeve in our Lord Jesus Christ, who 

278 



(26, 27) 



THE DEMOCRACY 

is our glory, do not show favoritism. For suppose a man True 
comes into one of your meetings, wearing gold rings and ra^°^* 
handsome clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in (21-9) 
dirty clothes. If you attend to the one who wears hand- 
some clothes and say. Sit here, this is a good place, and say 
to the poor man, Stand there, or Sit at my feet, are you not 
making distinctions among yourselves and judging people 
with wrong standards ? Listen, my beloved brothers, hath 
not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and 
to inherit the Kingdom which he has promised to those who 
love him? Yet you insult the poor man. Is it not the rich 
who lord it over you and themselves drag you into law 
courts ? Is it not they who revile the noble name you bear? 
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to 
scripttire, which says. You must love your neighbor as your- 
self, you are doing well; but if you show partiality you are 
committing sin and are convicted by the law as offenders. 

For whoever obeys the law as a whole, but makes a single The 
slip is guilty of everjrthing. For he who said, Do not com- St%f 
mit adultery, also said. Do not kill. Now, if you do not com- 
commit adultery but do kill, you have transgressed the law. obeS- 
Speak and act as those who are to be judged by the law of (Po?if) 
freedom; for a merciless judgment will be meted out to 
him who shows no mercy; but mercy triumphs in the face 
of judgment. 

What use is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith The 
and yet has no works? Can his faith save him? Suppose SSh 
a brother or a sister is ill-clad or lacks daily food, and one ^^- 
of you says to them. Depart in peace ; be warmed and well wOTks 
fed, but does not give tiiem what their body needs, what ^''"''^ 
use is that? So faith without deeds is dead in itself. But 
some one will say. You have faith ! Yes, and I have deeds 
as well. You show me your faith without works and I will 
show you by works what faith is ! You believe in one God? 
You are quite right; evil spirits also believe and shudder. 

My brothers, let not many become teachers, for you know The 
that we teachers shall be subjected to severe judgment. §ty^Sf 
We all make many sUps; if any one does not make a slip t?omng 
in speech that man is perfect; he is able to curb his whole ^^^ 
nature. In the case of horses we put the bridles into their (31-12) 

279 



THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM IN JAMES 

mouths to make them obey us and so we move the whole 
of their bodies. See also the ships; though of great size 
and driven by stiff winds, they are turned by a tiny rudder, 
wherever the mind of the steersman wishes. So the tongue 
is a small member of the body, but it can boast of great 
achievements! See how a little spark may set a vast 
forest on fire! The tongue also is a fire. It is a world of 
mischief. The tongue is set among our members, stain- 
ing the whole body and setting fire to the whole circle of 
existence and is itself set on fire by hell. For every kind of 
beast and bird, of creeping animals and creatures of the sea 
may be tamed and has been tamed by mankind; but no 
man can tame the tongue. It is an incessant evil, full of 
deadly venom! With it we bless the Lord and Father, and 
with it we curse men made in the likeness of God. Blesses 
and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers, 
this ought not to be. Does a fountain pour out fresh water 
and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my 
brothers, bear olives ? Or a vine, figs ? No more can salt 
water yield fresh. 
Noble Who among you is wise and intelligent? Let him show 
theSi- ^y wise conduct that his deeds are inspired by a wise 
dence modesty. But if you are cherishing in your hearts bitter 
Sds-^^ jealousy and rivalry, do not speak boastfully and falsely 
^1?.^) against the truth. That is not the wisdom which comes 
down from above, but it is earthly, sensuous and devilish. 
For wherever jealousy and rivalry are there is disorder 
and every kind of vile deed. The wisdom from above is 
first of all pure, then peaceable, forbearing, well-wishing, 
full of mercy, and good fruits, impartial and sincere. For 
the peacemakers who sow in peace there is a harvest of 
righteousness. 
Causes What causes wars and contentions in your midst ? Is it 
%Z)^ not from the cravings which are at war in your members ? 
You crave things and yet cannot get them. You envy and 
covet, yet you cannot obtain your end. You fight and make 
war; you do not get what you want because you do not 
ask God for it. You do ask, but you do not receive because 
you ask with the wicked intent that you may spend it on your 
pleasures. 

280 



THE CURSE UPON ILL-GOTTEN RICHES 

Come now, you rich men, weep and howl over your im- The 
pending miseries. Your riches are rotting, your clothes are S^on 
moth-eaten, your gold and silver are covered with rust and ^^"^^^^ 
their rust will be evidence against you and it will devour ?£hS^ 
your flesh like fire. You have been storing up treasures ^^'"^^ 
in these last days. See the wages due those who have 
reaped your fields — the wages of which you have defrauded 
them — are calling out against you and the cries of the har- 
vesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You 
have revelled here on earth and given yourselves to pleasure ; 
you have fattened yoiurselves as for the day of slaughter; 
you have condemned, you have murdered the righteous 
man who does not resist you. 

Be patient therefore, brothers, until the Lord arrives. The 
See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the of the* 
earth, waiting patiently over it until it receives the early Lwd 
and latter rain. So you must be patient. Strengthen your 
hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. Do not murmur 
against one another, brothers, lest you be judged. See, 
the judge is standing at the door! Take, brothers, as an 
example of fortitude and patience the prophets who have 
spoken in the name of the Lord. Remember, we call those 
blessed who patiently endure. You have heard of Job^s 
patient endurance and you have seen the issue of the Lord's 
dealing with him, how the Lord is full of compassion and 
pity. 

But above all, my brothers, swear not, neither by heaven to 
nor by earth, nor by anything else. Let your * Yes * be a J5°^^ 
simple * Yes ' and your ' No * a simple * No,' that you may oaths 
not fall imder condemnation. 

Is any one of you suffering? Let him pray. Is any one The 
in good spirits? Let him sing praise. Is any one among If"^^ 
you sick ? Let him send for the elders of the church and P^f^®^ 
let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name 
of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will restore the sick 
man, and the Lord will raise him up; even if he has com- 
mitted sins they will be forgiven him. So confess your 
sins to one another, and pray for one another that you 
may be healed. The prayers of a righteous man exert a 
powerfxxl influence. Elijah was a man with a nature like 

281 



THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM IN JAMES 

ours; and he earnestly prayed that there might be no rain 

and for three years and six months there was no rain. Then 

he prayed again, and the sky gave forth rain and the earth 

yielded its fruit. 

The My brothers, if any of you goes away from the truth 

tiaS't ^^^ some one brings him back, know that he who brings 

opgor- the sinner back from the error of his way saves his soul 

(J^o/ from death and covers a multitude of sins. 

I. The Literary Form of the Epistle of James. The epistle 
of James stands unique among the New Testament writers. In hter- 
ary form it resembles more closely the collection of Jesus' sayings 
found in the so-called "Sermon on the Mount" (Matt. 5-7) than any 
other New Testament book. Like the proverbs and gnomic essays 
in Ben Sira and the book of Proverbs, it is a string of pearls loosely 
strung together and sent forth as an epistle. At many points the 
author shows intimate familiarity with the writings of the famous old 
Jewish sage, Ben Sira (e. g., 1^^, and B. Sir. 3P"^°). The author's com- 
parison of the words of a teacher to a stream flowing from a fountain 
is taken from Ben Sira 24^°. In 5^^ he evidently had in mind the words 
of that famous wise man, found in 34^^: **He who deprives the hireling 
of his hire is a shedder of blood." The literary characteristics of the 
epistle of James are those of the Jewish wisdom literature, which found 
its later counterparts in the writings of Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. 
The thought gathers about certain themes, such as temptation, the 
value of riches, the use of the tongue, and the relation of faith and 
works. The themes discussed throughout are those which especially 
interested the sages and moralists of all ages. The tone is that of a 
practical, ethical teacher. Fifty-four imperatives are found in the one 
hundred and eight verses. The style is vivid, the literary figures 
fresh and striking, and the illustrations are drawn from nature and 
every-day life. Although there is a distinctly Jewish coloring, the 
language is that of a finished Greek wTiter. There are no traces of 
the strong Aramaic influence which is clearly apparent in many other 
New Testament writings. 

II. The Aim of the Epistle of James. The forceful literary 
form in which the thought is expressed strongly suggests that tliis 
epistle contains teachings which had often been communicated orally 
before they were committed to writing. In 3^ the author plainly 
states that he was a teacher. Like Ben Sira, his aim was evidently to 

282 



THE AIM OF THE EPISTLE OF JAMES 

put in permanent form the most important of his practical teachings. 
His abrupt ending also recalls that of Ben Sira and the book of Prov- 
erbs. The indications of logical order are more evident in the first 
part of the book; the latter part contains loosely arranged supplemental 
teachings. The author's aim was to correct certain false interpreta- 
tions of Christianity that were then current. Paul's doctrine of jus- 
tification through faith had evidently been misinterpreted and mis- 
used by many who claimed, in practice at least, that intellectual be- 
liefs or mystical religious experiences were the essentials in the Christian 
life, and that their moral acts were relatively imimportant. It is not 
entirely clear whether the author is taking direct issue with Paul's 
assertion, for example, in Galatians 2^^, ** that a man is justified simply 
by faith in Jesus Christ" or with the misinterpreters of Paul. In 
any case, it is obvious that the entire aim of the book is practical 
rather than theological. The author and Paul live in different intel- 
lectual worlds. Evidently the author of the epistle of James was 
f amihar with Galatians, I Corinthians, and Romans, and did not wholly 
approve of Paul's emphasis on faith in contrast to works; but he had 
no desire nor intention to enter into a controversy with the great 
apostle. His chief concern was to deliver the chxu-ch from the abuses 
which, in his day, were bringing disgrace upon the name of Christ. 
In addressing his teachings to ''the twelve tribes in the dispersion," it 
is clear that he was not speaking to Jews but to Christendom. When 
he wrote it was the universally accepted belief throughout the church 
that the Christians were the lineal heirs of the chosen people. Like 
the Jews after the exile, they were scattered widely throughout the 
world. In the light of his teachings it is also evident that he was 
addressing not Jews nor the heathen, but backsliding members of the 
Christian commonwealth and that, as has well been said, his aim was 
"to hold a mirror before his brethren that they might see their sorry 
figures and be lastingly ashamed." 

III. The Authorship and Date of James. The gnomic form 
of the book and its strong social interest suggest at once a kinship 
with the teachings of Jesus. The emphasis on law, as opposed to faith, 
also seems to point to James, the stanch supporter of the Jewish law. 
He it was who, according to Paul, forced even Peter and Barnabas to 
recant from the broad position which they had taken in their relation 
to Gentile Christians (Gal. 2^2-"). Josephus in his Antiquities (XX, 9^) 
states that Ananus, or Annas, the son of the corrupt high priest of 
the same name who had been chiefly instrumental in causing the 

283 



THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM IN JAMES 

crucifixion of Jesus, succeeded his father in the priesthood. After the 
death of the procurator Festus he put to death James, the brother of 
Jesus. Josephus says that this younger Ananus "was a bold man in 
his temper and very insolent. He also belonged to the sect of the 
Sadducees, who were more rigorous than the rest of the Jews in judging 
offenders. Accordingly (while Albinus, the new procurator, was still 
on his way to Judea), he assembled the court of the Sanhedrin and 
brought before them James, the brother of Jesus, who was called 
Christ, and certain others, and, when he had preferred an accusation 
against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned," 
Josephus adds that this act did not meet with the approval of the 
better-minded Jews and that as a result Ananus was speedily removed 
from the high-priesthood. The date of the death of James, the brother 
of Jesus, was therefore about 62 a.d., under the reign of Nero. The 
real cause of his death was probably the fear of the Sadducees lest the 
Christian doctrine of the Messiah might compromise them with Rome. 
Symeon, a nephew of Joseph and a cousin of Jesus, was placed at the 
head of the Christian church in Palestine; but even before the death of 
James the centre of thought and influence had passed to the Western 
ChiKch. From the occasional references to James, the brother of 
Jesus, it is evident that he was a strong character, zealous for the 
Jewish law and eager to prevent a breach between Christianity and 
Judaism. In the light of his historical relations to Paul, opposition 
to the teachings of the great apostle, such as is implied in the epistle 
of James, might be expected. The date of James's martyrdom would 
give time for him to become acquainted with the epistles as well as 
with the teachings of Paul. It is not entirely impossible that some of 
the teachings of James, the brother of Jesus, have been incorporated 
in this epistle, but the evidence that he is not its author is overwhelm- 
ing. The practical impossibility that a Galilean peasant, constantly 
using Aramaic, could write in a rhetorical Greek style, free from all 
Aramaisms, has long been recognized. The legal emphasis in this 
epistle is not upon the Jewish law but upon a body of Christian prin- 
ciples which had begun to take definite form near the close of the first 
Christian century. Not a single reference is found in the epistle to the 
earlier conflict between Judaism and Christianity. When its author 
wrote, entirely new problems were on the horizon. Paul's teachings 
and work are not in the near but remote background. It is practically 
incredible that a writing coming from the brother of Jesus could have 
been so completely without personal references to the Master and to 

284 



AUTHORSHIP AND DATE 

his teachings as is the epistle of James. Its problems and interests 
are practically the same as those that figm^e in the epistle to the 
Hebrews, in the writings of Clement of Rome, and in the Shepherd of 
Hermas, which belong to the last two decades of the first and opening 
years of the second centm-y. The evidence is also reasonably convinc- 
ing that the author was familiar with I Peter. Add to this the peculiar 
problems with which he is dealing, and the proof becomes cumulative 
that he was probably a Greek Christian, by the name of James, who 
wrote from Rome during the closing years of the first or the opening 
years of the second century. This conclusion is in full accord with 
the testimony of the superscription, as well as with the contents of 
the epistle. The earliest church traditions also support this dating. 
Eusebius placed this epistle among the controverted books. Jerome 
says that it was probably written by a different James from the brother 
of Jesus, though it gradually acquired authority. It is not found in 
the earliest lists of New Testament books, and not until the third 
century did it gain an established place in the canon. Its place there 
is probably due to the later belief that it was written by the brother 
of Jesus; but its contents and contribution to the history of Christian- 
ity amply justify its position in the canon. The New Testament, 
like the Old, reflects many diverse points of view and beliefs. Not 
the least of its charms and values is that it presents not merely one 
but all sides of truth. 

IV. The Contributions of the Book of James to Developing 
Christianity. It is evident that this epistle, like all the New Testa- 
ment writings, grew out of practical needs. The author, in his spirit 
and theme, reminds us in many ways of the old Hebrew prophet Amos. 
He evidently had a warm heart, but an exceedingly brusque exterior. 
He was so intent upon making his points that he did not stop to pre- 
sent the other side of the truth which he was emphasizing. In the 
days of Amos religion had been interpreted as mere conformity to 
certain ceremonial rites. When the epistle of James was written 
the danger that threatened Christianity was that faith might be in- 
terpreted narrowly as the mere acceptance of certain doctrines, or as 
nominal allegiance to its Founder, or as the sharing of certain mystical 
experiences which failed to transform the individual character or to 
lead to right acts. Christianity, like Judaism and all great religions, 
faced this peril at the end of the first Christian century, even as it has 
at many later periods in its history. In sounding a sharp note of 
warning, this otherwise unknown James has made a large contribution 

285 



THE CHRISTIAN WISDOM IN JAMES 

to Christianity. In his interpretation of the principles of Jesus he 
undoubtedly was not the equal of Paul. The great apostle declared 
that the first and absolute essential in the Christian life was to estab- 
lish an intimate, spiritual fellowship with God. At the same time, he 
always aflBrmed that the fruits of the Spirit, that is, of that genuinely 
spiritual fellowship with God which he described as faith, were the only 
certain proofs that a man had this faith. These are precisely the 
characteristics and the acts for which the author of James was con- 
tending. As we have seen, Paul devoted nearly as much attention to 
describing and emphasizing these fruits of the Spirit as he did to his 
analysis of the individual spiritual experience of which they were but 
the external evidence. 

The author of James was the forerunner of the modern ethical-cul- 
ture movement. In his emphasis on personal dependence upon God 
and of unwavering faith he also laid a sound foundation for morals; 
but he lacked the profound spiritual experience of the great apostle 
to the Gentiles and therefore the power to interpret Christianity as a 
whole rather than in its parts. His epistle is not, however, as Luther 
asserted, "an epistle of straw." It is a noble and practical homily 
on a text which Jesus himself propounded: "By their fruits you shall 
know them." It was a strong protest against the tendencies which 
during the Middle Ages obscured the real essence of Christianity. It 
is a protest to which Christianity in the present age is listening with 
results which are most practicable and commendable. At the same 
time, it is equally important to remember that the epistle of James 
presents not all but only a part of Christianity. 

V. The Democracy of the Epistle of James. The historical 
student of religion naturally classifies many of the tendencies in the 
epistle of James as Ebionite. Its denunciation of riches, its disparage- 
ment of worldly wisdom, and its emphasis on deeds of mercy are all 
characteristic tenets of that Palestinian Christian sect. But they are 
not due to the influence of a particular sect. They are the natural 
corollaries of the great social principles laid down by Jesus. Like 
Paul, its author was seeking to define the duties of citizens in the King- 
dom of God. The book of James is the most democratic of all the 
New Testament writings except the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, 
which present most fully the teachings of the Master. Simply and 
concretely James interprets into every-day life Jesus' social teachings 
and acts, which acknowledge no superiority except that established by 
service. The resentment which he feels toward the rich who defraud 

286 



Chris- 
tian 



ITS DEMOCRACY 

those who labor for them is closely akin to Jesus' hot indignation 
against the grafting high priests who in legahzed ways were putting 
their hands in the pockets of the poor. His vivid picture of the defer- 
ence paid to the rich and the neglect shown to the poor brother (2^"^) 
is unfortunately not entirely inapplicable to certain Christian churches 
to-day. If the epistle of James had not found a place in the New Testa- 
ment real Christianity would never have been committed so absolutely 
and irrevocably to practical democracy. It is not "an epistle of straw/* 
but of practical power, for it contributes many important details to 
the 'plan of the ideal community, the estabhshment of which is the 
goal of Christianity. 

§CLXIX. THE RULE OF LOVE IN THE EARLY CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH 

That you may share our fellowship, we now declare to The 
you that which existed from the very begimiing, which 
we have heard and which we have seen with our eyes and 1^°^- 
touched with our own hands, namely, the Word of Life, a ^ 
The Life has appeared and we saw it and bear witness and fi^)" 
announce to you that eternal Life which was with the Father 
and was manifested to us. And our fellowship is with the 
Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing 
these things that our own joy may be complete. 

This is the message which we heard from the Lord The s 
Jesus and now annoimce to you: God is light and in him |^ce 
there is no darkness at all. If we say, We have fellow- J|y^Jjf_ 
ship with him while we walk in darkness, we are lying slip^' 
and do not act sincerely; but if we walk in the light, as he 
is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the 
blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. If we 
say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the 
truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is so faithful 
and just that he forgives our sins and cleanses us from all 
xmrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make 
him a liar and his word is not in us. 

My dear children, I am writing this to you that you may The 
not sin; but if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with ^"^1 
the Father in Jesus Christ, the righteous. He himself is sav- 
an atoning sacrifice for our sins, though not for ours alone (2^2) 
but also for the sins of the whole world. 

287 



(5-10) 



THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE 

The And by this we may be sure that we know him — if we 

See obey his commands. He who says, I know him, but does 
fig^a" ^^* ^^®y ^^ commands is a Uar and the truth is not in him. 
Chris- But whoever obeys his word, in him love for God has really 
Q%^ reached perfection. By this means we may be sure that 
we are in him; whoever says he remains in him ought him- 
self to walk even as he walked. 
Of Beloved, I am not writing you any new command, but an 

htghi old command which you have had from the beginning: 
^^^ the old conunand is the word which you have heard. And 
(7?u) yet I am writing you a new command, which is realized 
in him and also in you, for the darkness is passing away 
and the true Hght is already shining. He who says he is 
in the Ught but hates his brother is still in darkness. He 
who loves his brother remains in the light, and in the light 
there is no stumbling block. But he who hates his brother 
is in darkness, he is walking in darkness and does not 
know where he is going, for the darkness is blinding his 
eyes. 
The My dear children, I am writing to you because for his 

coS- sake your sins are forgiven. Fathers, I am writing to you 
SISve b^c^^se you know him who has been from the very be- 
02 JsT® ginning. Yoimg men, I am writing to you because you have 
conquered the evil one. Children, I have written to you 
because you know the Father. Love not the world nor 
the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, love 
for the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, 
the cravings of the flesh and the cravings of the eyes and 
the vainglory of life, belongs not to the Father but to the 
world. And the world with its cravings is passing away, 
but he who does the will of God remains forever. 
God's^ See what a marvelous love the Father hath bestowed upon 
love , us in letting us be called the children of God! And fiiat 
mT^^ we are. For this reason the world does not recognize us: 
5^en because it has not known him. Beloved, we are now chil- 
(3^-') dren of God, but what we are to be has not been revealed. 
We do know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, 
for we shall see him as he is. And everyone who has this 
hope fixed on him keeps himself pvure just as he is pure. 
Anyone who is bora of God does not commit sin, for a 

288 



15-17 



THE CHRISTIANS' LOVE FOR THEIR BROTHERS 



divine seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he 
is bom a child of God. By this the children of God and 
the children of the devil are recognized: anyone who does 
not do right is not a child of God nor is he who does not 
love his brother. For this is the message you have heard 
from the very beginning, that you are to love one another. 
Do not wonder, brothers, that the world hates you. We 
know that we have passed over from death to life because 
we love our brothers. He who has no love remains in 
death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and 
you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in 
him. 

We know what love is by this, that Christ laid down his 
life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for the 
brothers. But if anyone has this world's wealth and sees 
his brother in need and restrains his sjnnpathy for him, how 
can love for God remain in him. My children, let us show 
our love not in words nor with lips only, but by deed and 
sincerity. 

Beloved, let us love one another for love comes from God 
and everyone who loves is bom of God and knows God. 
He who does not love, does not know God, for God is love. 
God's love for us has been manifested by his sending his 
only Son into the world that through him we might live. 
Love consists in this, not in our love for him but in his love 
for us and in his sending his Son to be an atoning sacrifice 
for our sins. 

Beloved, since God so loved us, then we ought to love 
one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love 
one another, then God remaineth in us and the love for him 
is perfect within us. By this we know that we remain in 
him and he remaineth in us because he hath given us a 
portion of his own Spirit. And we have seen and bear wit- 
ness that the Father hath sent the Son as a Saviour of the 
world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, 
God remaineth in him and he remains in God, and we our- 
selves know the love God hath for us and we believe in it. 
God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God 
and God remaineth in him. Love is perfect with us when 
we have full confidence about the day of judgment, for we 

289 



Their 
love 
for 
their 
broth- 
ers 

(9-11, 
13-lS) 



The 
mea- 
stireof 
Chris- 
tian 
love 

(16-18) 



God is 
love 

(47-10) 



The 

proofs 

of 

God's 

love in 

man 

(11-21) 



THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE 

are just as he is in respect to this world. In love there is 
no fear. Instead of that, perfect love drives out all fear, for 
fear has to do with punishment; he who fears has not at- 
tained perfect love. We love because he first loved us. 
If anyone declares, I love God and yet hates his brother, 
he is a Uar; for he who does not love his brother whom he 
has seen, cannot love God whom he has never seen. And 
we have this command from him, that he who loves God 
is to love his brother also. 

The The Christians know and trust God, the Creator of heaven 

^uow? ^^^ earth in whom are all things and from whom are all 
sMp of things, and who hath no other God beside him. From him 
early they have received the commandments which they have 
t^~ engraved on their minds and keep in the hope and ex- 
(^Apoi- pectation of the world to come. Therefore they do not 
A?is- commit adultery nor fornication; they do not bear false 
is)^^ witness; they do not deny what has been deposited with 
them, nor covet what is not theirs. They honor father 
and mother and show kindness to their neighbors. If 
they are judges, they judge uprightly. They do not wor- 
ship idols made in human form, and whatever they do not 
wish that others should do to them, they do not to others. 
They do not eat of food offered to idols because they are 
undefiled. They placate those who oppress them and 
make them their friends; they do good to their enemies. 
Their wives are absolutely pure and their daughters modest. 
Their men abstain from every unlawful marriage and 
from all impurity in the hope of future recompense. If 
any of them have bondmen, bondwomen or children, they 
persuade them to become Christians for the love that they 
have towards them; and when they become so they call 
them without distinction, brothers. They do not worship 
strange gods. They walk in all humiUty and kindness, 
and falsehood is not found among them. They love one an- 
other. They do not refuse to help the widows. They res- 
cue the orphan from him who does him violence. He who 
has Ogives ungrudgingly to him who has not. If they see a 
stranger, they take him to their dwellings and rejoice over 
him as over a real brother; for they do not call themselves 

290 



LIFE OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS 

brothers after the flesh but after the Spirit and in God. 
When one of their poor passes from the world, any one of 
them who sees it provides for his burial according to his 
ability. And if they hear that any one of their ntmiber is 
in prison or oppressed for the name of their Messiah, all 
of them provide for his needs. And if it is possible to re- 
deem him, they deliver him. If any one among them is 
poor and needy and they do not have food to spare, they 
fast two or three days that they may supply him with the 
necessary food. They scrupulously observe the commands 
of their Messiah. They Uve honestly and soberly as the 
Lord their God commanded them. Every morning and 
every hour they thank and praise God for his loving kind- 
nesses toward them; and for their food and drink they give 
thanks to him. If any righteous man among them passes 
from this world, they rejoice and give thanks to God, and 
they escort his body as if he were setting out on a journey 
from one place to another. If, on the other hand, they see 
that one of their nimiber has died in his xmgodliness or in 
his sins, they weep bitterly and sigh as over one who is 
about to go to punishment. 

As men who know God, they ask from him what is proper The 
for him to give and for them to receive. Thus they do SSs^^ 
throughout their entire life. And inasmuch as they acknowl- gf the 
edge the loving kindnesses of God toward them, lo, because ofl^he 
of them, there flows forth all the beauty that is in the world ! §J^^ 
But the good deeds which they do, they do not proclaim (»6) 
in the ears of the multitude, but they take care that no one 
shall perceive them. They hide their gift as one who has 
foimd a treasure hides it. Thus they labor to become 
righteous as those who expect to see their Messiah and to 
receive from him the glorious fulfillment of the promises 
made to them. Truly this is a new people and there is 
something divine in them! 

I. The Aim and Thought of I John. First John occupies a 
unique place among the New Testament writings. Although one of 
the latest, it presents in simplest form the essence of Christianity, In 
its literary character and in its conception of Jesus and his work, it is 
closely related to Hebrews. While it is nominally an epistle, it is in 

291 



THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE 

reality a brief homily, containing a series of meditations and exhor- 
tations. In its loosely connected structure, in its epigrammatic style, 
and in its profound emphasis on life and deeds, as well as upon belief, 
it is closely akin to the book of James. The reader also recognizes 
many echoes of Paul's distinctive teachings. All non-essentials, how- 
ever, are cast aside and the eternal principle of love, first clearly pro- 
claimed by the prophet Rosea, and declared by Jesus to be the supreme 
motive power in religion and morals, is given the central place. What 
the earlier prophets and Jesus had assumed, the author plainly states, 
namely, that God is love. The logic that underlies I John is simple 
and compelling: love, being the chief attribute of God, is the supreme 
force in the universe. It inspired Jesus to do that saving work for 
men which is the highest expression of divine love. True love for 
God begets love for men. It is this love which overcomes all fear, all 
hatred, and even the power of sin and death, and binds together God, 
the individual, and mankind into one divine fellowship. The author 
of I John clearly states in his opening paragraph that his purpose is 
to enable his readers to enjoy that divine fellowship which has been 
made possible through the self-sacrificing work of Jesus. He also 
aims to guard them against certain Docetic teachings, which led to a 
practical denial of Jesus' human existence (4^' ^) and substituted for 
the simple belief in the Friend and Teacher of mankind a vague, meta- 
physical mysticism. In the concluding notes (5^^) he reasserts his 
dominant aim: *'I have written in this way to you who believe in the 
Son of God, that you may be sure that you have eternal life." It was, 
therefore, to promote love and trust and fellowship among the followers 
of Jesus that this wonderful homily was committed to writing and sent 
forth as a tract. 

II. The Authorship and Date of I John. The bonds which 
bind together this epistle and the Fourth Gospel are both many and 
close. In each the point of view is that of eternity, rather than any 
specific moment in history. Each was inspired by a practical, evan- 
gelical aim. That of the Fourth Gospel is plainly stated in 20^^: it is 
**that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and 
that believing you may have life in his name." The Fourth Gospel 
is apparently addressed to both believers and unbelievers, while I John 
is an intimate message to those who have already felt the love of God 
inspired by Jesus. Both writings come from a mystic who regards 
the facts of history and ordinary experience as but symbols of deeper, 
spiritual realities. To him the material world, with its pomps and its 

292 



AUTHORSHIP AND DATE OF I JOHN 

passions, is but a passing panorama. He who does the will of God is 
the only abiding factor in the phenomena of hmnan life. Many strik- 
ing phrases also bind together these two writings {e. g., "to walk in the 
light/' or, "in darkness," "to be born of God," "to do the truth," and 
"God is light"). There are also equally striking points of difference. 
For example, the epistle does not use the Old Testament, while the gos- 
pel does so frequently. In the epistle man's relation to God is direct, 
while in the gospel it is through Christ. In one the thesis is that the 
Christ is Jesus, in the other that Jesus is the Christ. While these 
points of contact and difference may not point to absolute identity of 
authorship, they can be explained only on the hypothesis that both 
writings come from the same school and are inspired by the same 
deeply spiritual mind. The maturity of the thought points to a rela- 
tively late period in the apostoHc age. The absence of any references 
to persecution suggests that they come from the brief but bright period 
between the persecution of Domitian, which ended in 96, and the 
reign of Trajan, which began in 98. At least a date very close to the 
beginning of the second Christian century fully satisfies all the impli- 
cations of I John. The author, like that of the Fourth Gospel, reveals 
the influence of the Alexandrian type of thought. He identifies Jesus 
Avith the Logos or Word of Life, eternal and ever existent with God, 
yet incarnated so that he was seen wdth the eyes and touched by the 
hands of his followers. Here the Stoic doctrine of the Logos, the 
Jewish belief in a pre-existent Messiah, and the Christian memories of 
the historic Jesus blend. In the light of the oldest historic evidence, it 
is probable that not John, the son of Zebedee, who, the earhest tra- 
ditions state, was martyred about the middle of the first century, but 
John, the presbyter of Ephesus, speaks to us, if not through his own 
pen, through that of one of his faithful followers. If this generally 
accepted conclusion of modern scholarship be true, we probably have 
here not merely the richly spiritual message of a later Christian writer, 
but a luminous reflection of the teachings of the Master himself. 

III. The Personality back of the Johannine Writings. John, 
the presbyter of Ephesus, was in all probability "the beloved dis- 
ciple," who, according to the gospel that bears his name, was inti- 
mately associated with Jesus during the closing days of his ministry. 
He is described in the epilogue of the Fourth Gospel {2V^) as, "the 
disciple who bears testimony to these facts and who wrote them down; 
his testimony we know is true." It is significant that the early Chris- 
tian writer, Papias, also calls this John, the presbyter, a disciple of 

293 



THE CHRISTIAN ^RULE OF LOVE 

Jesus, even though he was not one of the Twelve. The brief letters 
known as II John and III John come directly from his hand. The 
first is a friendly note of warning, sent to an important Christian com- 
munity (addressed as "the elect lady and her children") which the 
presbyter hopes in the near future to visit personally. The warning 
is directed against certain travelling preachers who are advocating 
Docetic teachings similar to those referred to in I John 4^- ^. Third 
John is a private letter to Gains, who was probably a member of the 
same community to which the letter in II John was sent. It reveals 
the fact that another leader of the Christian church, Diotrephes, had 
refused to submit to the authority of the presbyter and had threat- 
ened to excommunicate Gains. It is clear that both of these letters 
were written by one accustomed to exercise authority over the local 
Christian communities. He is strenuous for the truth which has 
evidently crystallized in his mind into a definite body of doctrines. 
Thus he speaks in II John ^ of "the truth which remains within us and 
will be with us forever." But the dominant note in all this thinking, 
as in I John, is love: "It is the command which we have had from the 
very beginning — 'Let us love one another.' To live by his commands, 
that is what love means. And the command is, 'Live in love as you 
have learned to do from the beginning.'" 

The personality revealed in these letters is that of an old man who 
calls the members of the community under his care "children," and 
who can remember the historic beginnings of their faith. He, therefore, 
speaks with the authority of one who had personally heard the com- 
mands of the Master. These implications correspond to the beautiful 
portrait preserved in a fourth-century tradition, recounted by Jerome 
in his conunentary on Galatians: "When the holy evangelist, John, 
had lived to extreme old age in Ephesus, he could be carried only with 
difficulty by the hands of the disciples, and as he was not able to pro- 
nounce more words, he was accustomed to say at every assembly: 
'Little children, love one another.' At length the disciples and brothers, 
being tired of hearing always the same thing, said: 'Master, why do 
you always say this?' Thereupon John gave an answer worthy of 
himself: 'Because this is the command of the Lord, and if it is observed, 
then it is enough.' " 

The John who is revealed in this tradition, and especially through 
the three epistles and the gospel which bear his name and the im- 
print of his profound thinking, has a distinct and consistent personality. 
Even though we know practically nothing about the details of his 

294 



THE PERSONALITY OF JOHN 

life, he must be counted with Peter and Paul as one of the three great 
forces in the apostolic church. The influence of the Alexandrian 
Greek atmosphere amidst which he spent at least his later years may 
be recognized not only in his free use of allegory but also in his peculiar 
type of thought. He has much in common with Philo of Alexandria, 
who interpreted the thought of the Greek philosophers in the light of his 
Jewish inheritance. When John declared in the prologue of his gos- 
pel, *'In the beginning the Logos (or Word) was with God," he spoke 
as a Jew, famihar with the personification of Wisdom in Proverbs 8^. 
When he declared that '*the Logos was God," he echoed a familiar 
Stoic teaching. The two great teachers, however, who influenced 
John and his disciples most were Paul and Jesus. He fully accepted, 
for example, Paul's doctrine of the eternal, pre-existent Christ, and of 
liis exaltation in the presence of the Father and the belief that he was 
to come again to judge the world. He also reasserted Paul's great 
principle of Christian liberty through Christ. In his allegory of the 
vine and its branches he taught Paul's social ideal of the ''Body of 
Christ." From both Jesus and Paul he drew his central teaching that 
love is the ruling principle in the universe and that service for the 
Christian community is the only valid basis of reward. In all of his 
writings he is evidently combating on the one side the belief that 
Jesus was nothing more than a great teacher and prophet, and on the 
other the fatal tendency to deny altogether Jesus' humanity. The 
Fourth Gospel asserts in strongest terms Jesus' divinity and seeks to 
establish it by seven great signs of which the account of the raising 
of Lazarus is the culmination. At the same time it emphasizes Jesus' 
human side: his hunger, his weariness, his changing emotions, and his 
warm personal affection for his disciples. Thus John estabhshed the 
identity of the exalted Christ, which Paul and the other apostles revered, 
with the historical Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels. While he harmo- 
nized different currents of Christian thought and combated others, 
John's great contribution was the emphasis which he placed on Chris- 
tian love and liberty and upon service for the universal brotherhood, 
which Jesus gave his life to establish. The New Testament would be 
incomplete without the immortal declaration of faith contained in the 
words: **God is Love. God so loved the world that he gave his only 
Son, that every one who believes in him might not perish but have 
eternal life. We love because he first loved us." 

IV. The Life of the Early Christians. Aristides, the Athenian 
philosopher, in his defense of the Christians before the Emperor Ha- 

295 



THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE 

drian (117-138), has given a remarkably vivid picture of the Ufe of the 
early followers of Jesus. It is a picture which is confirmed and supple- 
mented by the testimony of scores of contemporary witnesses. Christi- 
anity proved an open door of hope and opportunity not only to the 
"lost sheep of the house of Israel" but also to the lost sheep of the pagan 
world. Even Celsus, its bitterest enemy, exclaims: "What sort of 
people do the Christians invite to their religious rites ? *Any one who 
is a sinner,' they say, 'or devoid of understanding, or simple-minded — 
in short, whoever is unfortunate will be received in the Kingdom of 
God.* " To the despondent sinner, to the homeless stranger, to the 
helpless slave, and to the hopeless outcast Christianity extended the 
hand of fellowship and a cordial invitation to join the brotherhood 
of those who were living in accordance with the spirit and teaching 
of him who declare^: "One is your Master, and you all are brothers. 
Let him who would be first among you be the servant of all." Brother- 
liness, as illustrated in the life of the early Christian church, has well 
been defined as "love on a footing of equality." In the presence of 
the early Christians hostile pagan critics were forced to cry out: "Look, 
how they love one another ! " All this varied cloud of witnesses bear 
testimony that primitive Christianity was not primarily a creed but 
a life of love and service. Its rites were very simple. Baptism was 
conceived of as a bath of purification, "to restore the health of the 
soul," and to endue the individual with the spirit of Jesus. It meant 
adoption as a son of God and admission into the Christian fellowship 
which Jesus had established. During the first century the Lord's 
Supper was the evening meal which each local comm^unity shared in 
common. Not untU the days of Trajan was it transferred (as a re- 
sult of the imperial decree) to the morning and made a distinctly 
liturgical act. In the apostolic church it symbolized Jesus' self-sacri- 
ficing, triumphant service for his followers. It was also the expressive 
rite which bound together the members of each local Christian com- 
munity and kept forever alive within them their Master's spirit of love 
and fellowship. Prayers were spontaneous, being inspired by the di- 
rect influence of the Spirit. Speaking with tongues was common. 
The enthusiasm begotten by the consciousness of being enlisted in a 
great cause stirred all hearts. These Christian communities were also 
potent educational forces. All their members were trained by con- 
stant practice, as well as by precept, to govern their every act by the 
spirit of love and loyalty to the interests of the great brotherhood and 
to labor for its extension throughout the world. 

296 



THE LIFE OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS 

The organization of these communities was simple and for practical 
service. At the head of each conmiunity stood the bishop who di- 
rected its reUgious life and especially its work for the sick and needy. 
Next to him, as the responsible directors of the Christian commmiity, 
were the presbyters or elders. Under the immediate direction of the 
bishop were the deacons, who are described in an early Christian writ- 
ing as "doers of good works, looking after all by day and by night." 
In another Christian writing they are directed " to act as eyes for the 
bishop, carefully inquiring into the actions of every church member . . . 
in order to find out those who are sick in the flesh and to bring such to 
the notice of the main body, who know nothing of them, that they may 
visit them and supply their wants." In the early church, widows were 
appointed to perform the services which later devolved upon the 
deaconesses. Thus we are told in a second-centiuy document that 
**in every congregation at least one widow is to be appointed to take 
care of sick women; she is to be obliging and sober; she is to report 
cases of need to the elders." Definite contributions were provided for 
the needy. Justin Martyr in his Apology (LXVII) states: "Those 
who are well-to-do give as they choose, each as he himself purposes. 
The collection is then deposited with the president, who succors or- 
phans, widows, those who are in want owing to sickness or any other 
cause, those who are in prison, and strangers who are on a journey." 
All gifts were voluntary and were simply and directly applied to the 
needs of each community. 

Not every Christian proved loyal to the spirit and teachings of his 
Master, but every effort was made by the members of the community 
to care for its morally delinquent. The lofty yet practical moral ideals 
of Jesus and Paul were constantly held up before them, not only 
through the words, but in the lives of their feUow Christians. The 
second chapter of the First Epistle of Clement, which was written to the 
Corinthian Christians near the close of the first century, bears eloquent 
testimony to this fact: "Day and night you agonized for all the brother- 
hood, that by means of compassion and care the number of God's 
elect might be saved. You were sincere, guileless, and void of malice 
among yoiuselves. Every sedition and every schism was an abomi- 
nation to you. You lamented the transgressions of your neighbors 
and judged their shortcomings to be your own." 

Visiting Christians were entertained for three or four days as guests 
of the local community. Then, if they remained, work was secured for 
them. Visiting evangelists, prophets, and laymen bound the Christian 

297 



THE CHRISTIAN RULE OF LOVE 

communities together into one great brotherhood. These bonds were 
strengthened by the exchange of letters and in time by common super- 
vision. The Roman church ultimately won its position of pre-emi- 
nence and authority through its kindly reception of all Christians visit- 
ing the Imperial City and through its valuable services to the local 
Christian communities far and near. Thus Paul's great ideal of the 
unity of the "Body of Christ" was in a measure concretely realized 
and the social principles of Jesus became the most powerful and abid- 
ing forces in the empire. 

V. The Essence of Christianity. The Apostolic Age is pre- 
eminently significant because it reveals in concrete, historical terms 
the essence of Christianity. Obviously, it is not a system of dogmas, 
nor a complex ecclesiastical organization, but a living historic move- 
ment. From the point of view of the individual, Christianity is not 
only a faith but an attitude and a way of living. Objectively, it is the 
expansion of the unique brotherhood which Jesus established during 
his Galilean ministry. It is the community of those who, under the 
impulse of his teaching and example, recognize God as their Father 
and all men as brothers. It is a world-wide fraternity of men and 
women, young and old, who, in their loyalty to God and in their ser- 
vice for their fellows, are being socially and morally redeemed. It is 
a movement which, during the first century, spread throughout the 
world unfettered by creeds or rules or complex organization and, 
therefore, free to adapt itseK to the varied needs of hmnanity. The 
heroic death of Jesus, instead of destroying this brotherhood, trans- 
ferred its centre to Jerusalem. There his invincible faith, his divine 
enthusiasm, and his burning zeal to redeem and serve humanity so 
inspired his followers that their numbers increased with incredible 
rapidity. Persecution only fanned the flame of love and loyalty into 
a conflagration that scattered its firebrands throughout the great cities 
of the empire. The love and zeal of the scattered disciples quickly 
attracted others to this divine brotherhood, so that before the genera- 
tion which had felt the immediate touch of Jesus' personality had 
passed away, a chain of Christian communities extended from Jeru- 
salem to Rome. Each citizen of this new commonwealth, that had 
suddenly sprung into existence, felt himself bound to every other 
member by the bonds of love and common endeavor. Fraternal co- 
operation took the place of hostile competition. The will of God, as 
interpreted by Jesus and the divine Spirit within them, became their 
supreme rule of life. Thus in a large measure the spiritual and social 

298 



THE ESSENCE OF CHRISTIANITY 

ideal, which Jesus called *'the Kingdom of God" and Paul the "Body 
of Christ," became in the Apostolic Age an historic reality. In the 
succeeding centuries many influences tended to arrest Christianity's 
normal development; but its ideal of loving fellowship with God and 
of complete loyalty to the perfect community, which Jesus aimed to 
establish, remains for the individual and humanity **the way, the truth 
and the life." 



299 



APPENDIX 



A PRACTICAL REFERENCE LIBRARY 

Books for Constant Reference. The literature on the Apostolic 
Age is exceedingly voluminous. Moffatt's Introduction to the Litera- 
ture of the New Testament presents in easily accessible form the impor- 
tant bibliography in connection with the New Testament books and 
the results of modem critical scholarship. McGiffert's Apostolic Age 
remains the most thoroughgoing and satisfactory history of this im- 
portant period. The general student will find many valuable sugges- 
tions in Bacon's Story of St. Paul. The first part is devoted to the 
history of Paul and the second part to a discussion of the contents of 
his letters. Wood's Ldfe and Ministry of Paul, the Apostle, is an ex- 
ceedingly compact, well-proportioned study of the work and teachings 
of the great apostle in the light of their historical setting. Ramsay's 
St Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen is in reality a historical and 
geographical commentary on the records of Paul's journeys found in 
the book of Acts. Upon the problems which these narratives present 
Professor Ramsay has focused the results of his important investi- 
gations in Asia Minor and Greece. Deissmann's St. Paul — A Study 
in Social and Religious History is an exceedingly fresh and stimulating 
interpretation of Paul not only in the light of his geographical but also 
of his intellectual and religious environment. For the study of in- 
dividual books, the volumes of the Century Bible, and especially the 
compact yet scholarly commentaries in The Bible for Home and School, 
are reliable and usable. For more detailed study the volumes of the 
International Critical Commentaries are the best authorities. 

Additional Books of Reference: Introductions. The brief, 
compact introductions to the New Testament by Peake and Bacon 
present the results of critical yet constructive scholarship. Jiilicher's 
Introduction to the New Testament is more detailed and yet is exceed- 
ingly luminous and stimulating. Harnack's Acts of the Apostles contains 
a minute study of the literary structure and sources of Acts. Even 

301 



APPENDIX 

though the facts and conclusions here presented may not be accepted 
by the reader, they are exceedingly suggestive. The monograph by 
Torrey, entitled The Aramaic Source in the Book of Acts, throws much 
new light upon the origin and historical value of Luke's great epic of 
conquering Christianity. Lake's Earlier Epistles of St. Paul deals not 
only with the critical questions presented by Paul's major epistles but 
also with their interpretation and harmonization with the parallel 
records contained in Acts. In his Light from the Ancient East Professor 
Deissmann has placed at the disposal of the reader a wealth of con- 
temporary Greek literature and archaeological material which illumi- 
nates the New Testament writings. 

Contemporary Religions. In his Evolution of Early Christianity 
Professor Case has presented in compact but masterly form the differ- 
ent currents of religious life and thought amidst which Christianity 
developed and has traced their influence upon Christian thought 
during the formative Apostolic Age. In a more minute, painstaking, 
and yet on the whole less satisfying manner, Clemen deals with the 
same problem in his Primitive Christianity and its Non-Jewish Sources. 
Kennedy in his St. Paul and the Mystery Religions and Gardner in 
his Religious Experiences of St. Paul discuss the influence of Paul's 
religious environment upon the development of his faith. 

Histories of the Apostolic Age. Weizsacher's The Apostolic 
Age and the Christian Church (I, II) presents a vivid and detailed pic- 
ture of the development of the early church. Bartlet's The Apostolic 
Age is a well-proportioned sketch of the period. Ropes's Apostolic 
Age is not a complete history but rather a discussion of certain im- 
portant problems and phases in the life of this important era. It 
contains many valuable suggestions for the more advanced student. 
Scott's The Beginnings of the Church is a detailed study of the life 
of the Christian community at Jerusalem in the days preceding the 
work of Paul. Ramsay, in his Church in the Roman Empire, presents 
the larger political environment of Christianity. Dobschutz, in his 
Apostolic Age, treats briefly but vividly the life of the Christian com- 
munities, beginning with the death of Jesus and extending down into 
the Post-Apostolic Age. This volume is paralleled by his larger and 
more detailed Christian Life in the Primitive Church. This volume 
contains a wealth of data which make exceedingly real the life and 
problems of the early Christian communities. Similar in scope and 
aim is Hamack's Expansion of Christianity (I, II). The student who 
desires to consult the extra-canonical authorities regarding the Apos- 

302 



APPENDIX 

tolic and Post-Apostolic Age will find a careful selection of the more 
important passages in Ayer's Source Book for Ancient Church History. 
Lives of Paul. A fascinating, concise sketch of the personality 
and thought of Paul, written from a critical but sympathetic point of 
view, is found in Wrede's Paul. Equally critical, but in many respects 
more satisfying, is Weinel's St. Paul — The Man and His Work. Each 
of these writers is a severe yet appreciative critic of the great apostle. 
To this same class belongs Clemen's Paul, His Life and Work. Two 
stimulating volumes, which are the outgrowth of the hotly contested 
controversy as to whether Jesus or Paul was the real founder of 
Christianity, are Meyer's Jesus or Paul and Weiss's Paul and Jesus. 
Jones, in his Paul, the Orator, discusses at length the forensic side of 
the great apostle's activity. Ramsay, in his Cities of St. Paul, presents 
a rich abundance of historical and archaeological data regarding the 
scenes amidst which Paul carried on his epoch-making missionary 
campaigns in Asia Minor. 

II 

GENERAL QUESTIONS AND SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL 
RESEARCH 

The General Questions, as in the preceding volumes, follow the 
main divisions of the book and aim to guide the student in collecting 
and co-ordinating the more important facts presented in the biblical 
texts or in the notes. 

The Subjects for Special Research are intended as a guide for 
further study in related lines, and aim, by means of detailed refer- 
ences, to introduce the student and the teacher to the more important 
passages in the best English books of reference. In classroom work 
many of these topics may profitably be assigned for individual research. 
The references are to pages, unless otherwise indicated. Ordinarily, 
several parallel references are given, that the student may be able to 
utilize the book at hand. 

INTRODUCTION: THE RECORDS AND BACKGROUND OF 
THE APOSTOLIC AGE 

I. The Records of the Work and Teachings of the Apostles. 

General Questions: 1. Describe the duration and importance of the 
Apostolic Age. 2. The historical value of the New Testament letters 

303 



APPENDIX 

and epistles. 3. Reasons that led the author to write the book of Acts. 
4. Evidence that the author was Luke, the physician. 5. His per- 
sonaHty and equipment. 6. Nature of the sources incorporated in 
Acts 1^-15^^ 7. Historical value of the journal of travel in 15^^-28^^ 
8. Conclusions regarding the historical value of the records of the 
ApostoHc Age. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Luke's use of medical terms 
m Acts. Moffatt, Introd. to N. T., 289, 290; Harnack, Luke the Physi- 
cian, 175-198; Hobart, The Medical Language of St Paid, 2. The 
historical accuracy of Acts. Moffatt, Introd. to N. T., 304-8; Light- 
foot, Essay on '' Supernatural Religions,'' 291-302; Ramsay, Christian' 
ity in the Roman Empire, chaps. II-VHI. 

n. The Historical and Religious Background of the Apos- 
tolic Age. General Questions: 1. Describe the personahty and 
policy of each of the Roman emperors from Tiberius to Trajan. 2. The 
ways in which Rome prepared the world for Christianity. 3. The his- 
tory of the Jews of Palestine from 36 to 90 a.d. 4. Compare the Jews of 
Palestine with those of the dispersion. 5. Describe the ways in which 
the Jews attempted to win the heathen to Judaism. 6. The teachings 
of Epicureanism, Cynicism, and Stoicism. 7. The ideas underlying 
emperor-worship, and their significance for Christianity. 8. The char- 
acteristics of the mystery-religions. 9. The social and religious needs 
of the Roman world. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The history and tenets of 
Stoicism. Case, Evolution of Christianity, 267-283; Article, "Stoicism," 
in Encyc. Brit. 2. Origin of the Roman emperor-worship. Case, 
Evolution of Christianity, 195-222; Deissmann, Light from the Ancient 
East, 342-384. 3. Contemporary mystery-rehgions. Case, Evolution of 
Christianity, 284-330; Cumont, Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism; 
Mead, Thrice Greatest Hermes; Reitzenstein, Poimandres; Jacoby, Die 
antiken Mysterienreligionen und das Christentum. 

PRIMITIVE CHRISTIANITY IN PALESTINE AND SYRIA 

§ CXLVI. The Origin of the Jerusalem Christian Community. 

General Questions: 1. Why did Jesus' followers immediately after 
his death make Jerusalem their home? 2. Describe the personnel of 
the Jerusalem Christian community. 3. The motives that led the 
disciples to elect Matthias. 4. The historical and traditional ele- 
ments in the story of the day of Pentecost. 5. The psychological ex- 

304 



APPENDIX 

perience" that then came to the members of the Jerusalem commu- 
nity. 6. The central ideas in Peter's sermon. 7. The behefs of the 
primitive Christians. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Speaking with tongues in the 
early Christian chm-ch. Scott, The Beginnings of the Church, 57-83; 
Lake, Earlier Epistles of St. Paul, 241-252; Cutten, Psych. Phenomena 
of Christianity, 37-59. 2. The use of the title "Lord." Scott, Begins 
nings of the Church, 84-108; Weiss, Kurios. 3. Mediaeval and modern 
faith-cures. Cutten, Psych. Phenomena of Christianity, 196-231. 

§ CXLVII. The Life of the Primitive Christian Community. 
General Questions: 1. Describe the circumstances and the sig- 
nificance of the healing of the lame man in the temple. 2. The lead- 
ing ideas in Peter's address to the multitude. 3. The reasons why 
the apostles were arrested and the basis of their defense before the 
Sanhedrin. 4. Economic and social principles governing the Chris- 
tian community at Jerusalem. 5. The sin of Ananias and Sapphira. 
6. How far and in what respects was the community at Jerusalem a 
local reaHzation of Jesus' ideal of the Kingdom of God ? 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The origin and history of the 
Ecclesia or Church. Scott, Beginnings of the Church, 28-56; Hastings, 
D. B., I, 425, 426. 2. Communistic tendencies in early Christianity. 
McGiffert, Apostolic Age, 66-70; Dobschiitz, Christian Life in the 
Prim. Church, 143-6; Rauschenbush, Christianity and the Social Crisis 
120-3. 

§CXLVIIL The Work and Death of Stephen. General 
Questions: 1. Why did Christianity appeal especially to the Jews of 
the dispersion ? 2. Describe the reasons which led to the appointment 
of the seven, and their personnel. 3. The personality of Stephen. 
4. The subjects discussed by him with the Hellenistic Jews. 5. His 
attitude toward Judaism and his claims for Christianity. 6. His con- 
tributions to the new faith through his teachings and martyrdom. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The religious and social life 
of the Jewish synagogue. Hastings, D. B., IV, 640-3; Oesterley and 
Box, Religion and Worship of the Synagogue. 2. The Jewish proselyting 
movement. McGiffert, Apostolic Age, 157-160; Dobschiitz, Life in the 
Primitive Church, 160-7; Harnack, Expansion of Christianity, I, 11-18; 
Thatcher, The Apostolic Church, 19-33. 

§ CXLIX. The Expansion of Christianity after the Death of 
Stephen. General Questions: 1. Describe the effect of Stephen's 
martyrdom upon Jesus' followers. 2. The personaUty and teachings 

305 



APPENDIX 

of Philip the evangelist. 3. The results and limitations of his work 
among the Samaritans. 4. The basis and significance of the conver- 
sion of the Ethiopian eunuch. 5. The steps which led to the estabhsh- 
ment of Christianity at Antioch. 6. The historical origin of the term 
"Christian." 7. The nature of the persecution of the Christians under 
Herod Agrippa I. 8. Influences that transformed Peter's attitude 
toward the Gentiles. 9. The permanent contributions of the Pales- 
tinian Christians to Christianity. 

Subjects for Special Reseaech: 1. Antioch at the middle of the 
first Christian century. Hastings, D. B., I, 103, 104; Ramsay, Church 
in the Roman Empire, chaps. II-VII. 2. The reign of Herod Agrippa 
I. Hastings, D. B., II, 359, 360; Mathews, Hist, of N. T. Times, 
181-7; Schiirer, Jewish People in the Time of Jesus Christ, Div. I, II, 
150-165. 

PAUL'S WORK AND TEACHINGS 

§ CL. Paul's Early Training and Conversion. General Ques- 
tions: 1. Describe Paul's physical and family inheritance. 2. His 
personal characteristics. 3. His intellectual and religious environment 
at Tarsus. 4. His educational opportunities at Jerusalem. 5. The 
motives that led him to persecute the followers of Jesus. 6. The dif- 
ferences and points of agreement in the four accounts of his conversion. 
7. The experience that made him a devoted follower of Jesus. 8. The 
first fifteen years of his missionary activity. 9. His opportunities to 
become acquainted with the life and teachings of Jesus. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The situation and history of 
Tarsus. Wood, Life and Ministry of Paul, 23-30; Ramsay, Cities of St. 
Paul, 85-244. 2. Paul's conversion. Wood, Life and Ministry of 
Paul, 49-53; Bacon, Story of St. Paul, 34-67; Deissmann, St. Paul, 
115-124; Gardner, Religious Experiences of St. Paul, 20-56. 

§CLI. Paul's First Missionary Campaign. General Ques- 
tions: 1. Significance of Paul's year of work with the Antioch com- 
munity. 2. The reasons why he and Barnabas set out on their first 
missionary campaign. 3. The limitations and results of their work at 
Cyprus. 4. Paul's reasons for going to southern Asia Minor. 5. The 
conditions which confronted Paul and Barnabas in Galatian Antioch. 
6. Their experiences at Iconium and Lystra. 7. The results of their 
first campaign in Asia Minor. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The situation and strategic 
importance of Galatian Antioch. En. Bib., I, 184; Ramsay, Cities of 

306 



APPENDIX 

St. Paul, 247-295. 2. The situation of Iconium. En. Bib., II, 2144-6; 
Ramsay, Cities of St. Paul, 317-382. 

§ CLII. The Breaking of Jewish Bonds. General Ques- 
tions: 1. Why did the missionary campaign of Paul and Barnabas 
present a difficult problem to the Christian church, and what was the 
nature of that problem ? 2. Discuss the date and significance of Paul's 
conference with the ''pillar" apostles at Jerusalem. 3. Peter's vac- 
illation in regard to associating with Gentile Christians. 4. The atti- 
tude of the Judaistic party in the church. 5. The proposed com- 
promise. 6. Paul's contributions to the ultimate solution of the 
problem. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The chronology of Paul's 
life. Moffatt, Introd. to N. T., 62-64; Hastings, D. B., I, 423-5; 
En. Bib., I, 809-817; Deissmann, St. Paul, 235-260. 2. The charges 
which the Jews brought against the Christians. Case, Evolution of 
Christianity, 123-146; McGilfert, Apostolic Age, 192-211. 

§ CLIII. Paul 's Second Visit and Later Letter to the Churches 
of Galatia. General Questions: 1. Describe Paul's immediate and 
ultimate objective in his second missionary campaign. 2. The com- 
munities to which the epistle to the Galatians was written. 3. Its 
date and aim. 4. Paul's method of presenting his convictions. 5. His 
estimate of the relative importance of the Jewish law and of the work 
of Jesus. 6. The meaning and responsibilities of Christian freedom. 

Subjects FOR Special Research: 1. The North and South Galatian 
theories. Moffatt, Introd. to N. T., 90-101; McGiffert, Apostolic Age, 
178-181; Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, 178-184. 2. Date of Paul's 
letter to the Galatians. Moffatt, Introd. to N. T., 101-6; Ramsay, St. 
Paul the Traveller, 189-192; Lake, Earlier Epistles of St. Paul, 253-273. 

§CLIV. Paul's Missionary Work in Macedonia. General 
Questions: 1. Describe the probable reasons why Paul did not at 
once continue his work in Asia Minor. 2. The psychological antece- 
dents and significance of his vision at Troas. 3. The conditions under 
which he worked at Philippi. 4. The results of his work there. 5. Con- 
ditions at Thessalonica. 6. The character of the Christian conunu- 
nity which he there established. 7. The significance of his work in 
Macedonia. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The nature of Paul's visions. 
Weinel, St. Paul, 80-84; Cutten, Psych. Phenomena of Christianity, 
60-70. 2. The situation and history of Philippi. Hastings, D. B., 
m, 837; En. Bib., Ill, 3701-3. 

307 



APPENDIX 

§CLV. Paul's Letters to the Christians at Thessalonica. 

General Questions: 1. Describe the general structure and the five 
distinctive divisions found in the majority of Paul's letters. 2. The 
characteristics and the charm of Paul's literary style. 3. The rea- 
sons why Paul wrote his first letter to the Thessalonians. 4. Its 
structure. 5. Its leading ideas. 6. The structure of II Thessalonians. 7. 
The evidence that it was written by Paul. 8. Its important teachings. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Contemporary Greek letters. 
Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, 107-400. 2. Evidence for 
and against the authenticity of II Thessalonians. MofFatt, Introd. to 
N. T., 81, 82; Bacon, St. Paul, 243-251. 3. The situation and history 
of Thessalonica. En. Bib., IV, 5046-8; Hastings, D. B., IV, 749, 750. 

§CLVI. Paul's Work at Athens and Corinth. General 
Questions: 1. Draw a general plan indicating the situation of the 
important pubUc buildings at Athens when Paul visited it. 2. De- 
scribe its intellectual and religious life and Paul's attitude toward it. 
3. Express in the form of a paraphrase the leading ideas in his ad- 
dress to the Athenian crowd. 4. The way in which it was received. 
5. In what did Paul's skill as an orator consist? 6. What peculiar 
and difficult problems confronted Paul at Corinth? 7. What new 
methods did he there employ? 8. In what respects was his work at 
Corinth successful? 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Philosophical schools in 
Athens in Paul's day. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, 238-244; Zeller, 
The Stoics, Epicureans, and Skeptics; Windelband, HiM. of Ancient 
Philosophy; Gomperz, Greek Thinkers, II, III. 2. The geographical 
and commercial importance of Corinth. Dobschiitz, Life in the Primi- 
tive Church, 11-13; Frazer, Pausanias, II, 1,2; En. Bib., I, 897-9. 

§ CLVII. Paul's Correspondence with the Corinthian Church. 
General Questions: 1. Describe the intellectual and moral con- 
ditions in Corinth when Paul visited it. 2. The peculiar problems in 
the Christian church at Corinth. 3. The contents of Paul's first letter 
to the Corinthian Christians. 4. The structure and contents of his 
second letter: I Corinthians. 5. Paul's method of dealing with factions 
in the Christian church. 6. His teachings regarding personal im- 
morality. 7. The occasion and contents of his third letter to the 
Corinthians. 8. The structure and leading ideas of his fourth letter. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Paul's teachings regarding 
the death and resurrection of Jesus. Deissmann, St. Paul, 173-9; 
Weinel, St Paid, 300-312. 2. The later history of the Corinthian 

308 



APPENDIX 

church reflected m I Clement. Dobschiitz, Life in the Primitive Church, 
211-7; Ante-Nicene Fathers, I, 1-21. 

§CLVIII. PauPs Principles of Christian Living. Generax 
Questions: 1. Formulate in your own words Paul's statement of a 
Christian's duty in case a dispute arises with a fellow Christian. 

2. Describe his conception of the moral responsibilities of those who 
enjoyed Christian liberty. 3. Compare his teachings and those of 
Jesus regarding marriage and divorce. 4. Describe his practical inter- 
pretation of Jesus' law of love. 5. His teachings regarding the "Body 
of Christ." 6. The setting of his hymn to love in I Corinthians 13. 
7. Express in the form of a paraphrase the leading ideas in this hymn. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. A comparison of the Roman 
and Christian attitude toward divorce. Westermarck, Hist, of Humnn 
Marriage; Howard, Hist, of Matrimonial Institviions, I. 2. The 
literary charm of Paul's hymn in praise of love. Weinel, St. Paul, 
137; Von Norden, Antik. Kunstprosa, II, 506. 

§CLIX. Paul's Ministry at Ephesus. General Questions: 
1. Trace on the map Paul's probable itinerary from Ephesus to An- 
tioch. 2. Describe the situation of Ephesus. 3. Its political and re- 
ligious importance. 4, Its intellectual life in Paul's day. 5. The 
ways, in which Paul adapted his methods to local conditions. 6. The 
pagan opposition which he aroused. 7. The limitations and the re- 
sults of his work at Ephesus. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The history of Ephesus and 
the results of recent excavation. En. Bib., II, 1302-5; Hastings, 
D. B., I, 720-4; Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus. 2. The temple of 
Artemis. Hastmgs, D. B., I, 605, 606, 724; En. Bib., I, 1098-1100. 

§ CLX. PauPs Interpretation of Jesus' Saving Work. Gen- 
eral Questions: 1. Describe the reasons which led Paul to write his 
epistle to the Romans. 2. Its structure and important divisions. 

3. The practical value and limitations of the Jewish legal system. 

4. What Jesus and his teaching had done for Paul. 5. The inherited 
ideas which shaped Paul's conception of Jesus. 6. The different figures 
which he employed to describe Jesus' saving work, and their meaning. 
7. The way in which Jesus, according to Paul, saves men. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The Christian church at 
Rome. McGiffert, Apostolic Age, 325, 328, 588-593; Dobschiitz, Life 
in the Primitive Church, 121-3, 203, 204. 2. Paul's theology. Deiss- 
mann, St. Paul, 143-192; Ropes, Apostolic Age, 134-168; Wrede, Paid, 
84r-119; Weinel, St Paul, 286-352. 

309 



APPENDIX 

§ CLXI. Paul's Social Teachings. General Questions: 
1. Describe Paul's interest in ethical and social questions. 2. The 
evidence that he had a wide and first-hand knowledge of many of 
Jesus' social teachings. 3. Paul's statement of Jesus' principle of self- 
sacrifice. 4. The Christian's duty to his fellow Christians. 5. To 
civil authorities and organized society. 6. Paul's principle of tolera- 
tion. 7. The influence of his belief in the speedy second coming of 
Jesus upon his social teaching and activity. 8. Compare Jesus' teach- 
ings regarding the Kingdom of God and Paul's regarding the "Body 
of Christ." 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Social life in the Roman Em- 
pire. Fowler, Social Life at Rome in the Age of Cicero; Tucker, Life 
in the Roman World of Nero and St. Paul. 2. The social Hfe of the 
early Christian churches. Harnack, Expansion of Christianity, I, 
181-249. 3. Royce's interpretation of Paul's social teachings, The 
Problem of Christianity, I, II. 

§ CLXII. Paul's Last Journey to Jerusalem. General Ques- 
tions: 1. Describe the incidents of Paul's journey to Jerusalem. 2. The 
reasons that led him to revisit the home of Judaism. 3. The extent 
to which his mission to the Jerusalem church appears to have been 
successful. 4. The reasons why the Jews hated him. 5. The basis 
and nature of their attack. 6. Was Paul's visit to Jerusalem a mistake ? 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Paul's skill and methods as 
an organizer. Wrede, Paul, 56-62; Weinel, St. Paul, 200-217. 2. The 
finances of the early Christian churches. Dobschiitz, Life in the Primi- 
tive Church, 58, 59; Harnack, Expansion of Christianity, I, 227-230. 

§CLXIII. The Ambassador in Bonds. General Questions: 

1. Describe the reasons why Felix kept Paul in prison for t^^o years. 

2. The charge of Tertullus, and Paul's defense before Felix. 3. The 
intellectual atmosphere of Csesarea. 4. The evidence regarding the 
date of the proconsulship of Festus. 5. Paul's reasons for appealing to 
Caesar. 6. Trace on a map Paul's journey from Jerusalem to Rome. 
7. The story of his shipwreck. 8. His life as a prisoner at Rome. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The personal history of 
Felix. En. Bib., II, 1516, 1517; Schiirer, Hist, of the Jew. People, 
Div. I, II, 174-183. 2. Roman ships and methods of sailing. En. 
Bib., IV, 4480-4; Smith, Voyage and Shipwreck of St. Paul; Torr, An- 
cient Ships. 

§ CLXIV. The Last Letters of the Aged Prisoner. General 
Questions: 1. Describe the letters which Paul wrote during his im- 

310 



APPENDIX 

prisonment at Rome. 2. His aim in writing to Philemon and the way 
in which he endeavored to aceompHsh it. 3. The occasion of his letter 
to the Colossians. 4. The teachings which it presents. 5. The evi- 
dence that the so-called epistle to the Ephesians was written by Paul. 
6. Its leading ideas. 7. The aim of Paul's letter to the Philippians. 

8. The light which it throws upon Paul's condition at the time. 

9. Paul's leading contributions to the beliefs, the organization, and the 
social ideals of Christianity. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Origin and distinctive be- 
liefs of Gnosticism. Dobschiitz, Life in the Primitive Church, 251-276; 
En, Bib., II, 1738-42; Mansel, Gnostic Heresies. 2. Polycarp's Epis- 
tle to the Philippians. Ante-Nicene Fathers, 1, 31-36. 3. Paul's contri- 
butions to the faith of Christianity. Wrede, Paul, 155-182. 



CHRISTIANITY DURING THE SECOND HALF OF THE 
FIRST CENTURY 

§CLXV. The Message of Hope and Inspiration in I Peter. 

General Questions: 1. What is known regarding Peter's later 
activity ? 2. What evidence is there that he died a martyr at Rome ? 
3. Describe the extension of Christianity throughout the Roman 
world during the first century. 4. How far did it penetrate the im- 
perial household ? 5. What does Pliny state regarding the character 
cf the Christians in Bithynia? 6. Describe Domitian's persecutions 
of the Christians. 7. The aim of I Peter. 8. Its probable authorship 
and date. 9. Its leading ideas. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. Domitian's policy toward 
his subjects. Ayer, Source Book for Ancient Church History, 11, 12; 
Ramsay, The Church in the Roman Empire. 2. The thought and au- 
thorship of II Peter. Moffatt, Introd. to N. T., 359-371; Jiilicher, 
Introd. to N. T., 232-241. 

§ CLXVI. The Early Christian Sermon in Hebrews. General 
Questions: 1. Describe the evidence that the so-called epistle to 
the Hebrews was originally uttered as a sermon. 2. The character 
and point of view of its author. 3. The class to which it was ad- 
dressed. 4. The temptations which confronted them. 5. The aim of 
the author of Hebrews. 6. The way in which he develops his theme. 
7. The literary charm of Hebrews. 8. Its contribution to the faith 
of Christianity. 

311 



APPENDIX 

Subjects for Specla.l Research: 1. The characteristics of Alex- 
andrian life and philosophy. Encyc. Brit. I, 573-5; Kingsley, AleX' 
andria and Her Schools; Zeller, History of Philosophy; Knaack, 
Alexandrische Litteratur. 2. A comparison of Paul's interpretation of 
the character and work of Jesus with that of the author of Hebrews. 

§ CLXVII. The Visions of the Ultimate Victory of Christian- 
ity in the Book of Revelation. General Questions: 1. Describe 
the aims of the author of the book of Revelation. 2. The practical 
problems with which the author is dealing. 3. The class of literature 
to which it belongs. 4. Point of view and date at which it was written. 
5. Its use of figures drawn from early apocalyptic writings. 6. The 
meaning of its dramatic pictures, 7. The social significance of its 
description of the new Jerusalem. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The apocalypse contained 
in IV Ezra. Charles, The Apocryphal and Fsevdepigrapha of the 0. T., 
542-624. 2. Christian beliefs regarding the end of the world. Clemen, 
Primitive Christianity and its Non-Jewish Sources, 117-174. 

§ CLXVIII. The Christian Wisdom of the Epistle of James. 
General Questions: 1. Describe the literary peculiarities of the 
epistle of James. 2. The motives which influenced its author to 
write. 3. The history of James, the brother of Jesus. 4. The prob- 
able date of the epistle of James. 5. The point of view and char- 
acter of its author. 6. Its distinctive teachings. 7. Its emphasis on 
democracy. 8. Its practical value. 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. History of the Palestinian 
Christian communities. Harnack, Expansion of Christianity, II, 247- 
276. 2. The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles. Ayer, Source Book for 
Ancient Church History, 37-41; Hastings, D. B., Extra Vol., 438-451. 

§ CLXIX. The Rule of Love in the Early Christian Church. 
General Questions: 1. Describe the aim of the author of I John. 
2. Its teaching regarding love. 3. Its probable author and date. 
4. The evidence that I John and the Fourth Gospel come from the 
same ultimate source. 5. The personality revealed in the Johannine 
writings. 6. Evidences that the principles of love prevailed in the 
early Christian communities. 7. The organization and institutions 
of the early churches. 8. What is Christianity ? 

Subjects for Special Research: 1. The picture of early Chris- 
tian life in the Shepherd of Hermas. Dobschiitz, Life in the Primitive 
Church, 309-362. 2. The treatment of the sick and needy in the early 
church. Dobschiitz, Life in the Primitive Church, 368-370; Harnack, 

312 



APPENDIX 

Expansion of Christianity, I, 131-151, 230-236; Ulhorn, Christian 
Charity in the Ancient Church. 3. Baptism and the Lord's Supper in 
the early church. Scott, Beginnings of the Church, 162-223; Clemen, 
Primitive Christianity and its Non^ swish Sources, 212-266; Heit- 
miiller, Taufe und AbendmaM im Urchrisientum. 



313 



The Hi^orical Bible 

By 

Charles Fo^er Kent, Ph.D. 

6 volumes. 12mo. Cloth. Each $1.00 net 

THE Historical Bible is the practical result of twenty- 
years' experience with college, seminary and general Bible 
classes. Under the direction of experienced teachers it 
will be possible for college classes to cover the entire field of 
biblical and cognate history in two or three years. For the use 
of these classes each volume is provided with general questions 
which aim to focus the attention while reading on the im- 
portant facts contained in each section. To these are added 
subjects for special investigation, with detailed references to 
select authorities, so as to guide the student into the broader 
fields of individual research. 

The Historical Bible is also planned and has already been 
tested as a text-book for senior and adult Bible classes in the 
Sunday-school, as a manual for Sunday-school teachers' training 
classes, and as a basis of study for general readers who desire to 
gain from a modern point of view a working systematic knowl- 
edge of the entire biblical field. 

Arrangement of Volumes: 



I. The Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew History. 

From the Beginnings of Human History to the Death of Moses. 

II. The Founders and Rulers of United Israel. 

From the Death of Moses to the Division of the Hebrew Kingdon^ 

III. The Kings and Prophets of Israel and Judah. 

From the Division of the Kingdom to the Babylonian Exile. 

IV. The Leaders and Teachers of Post=Exilic Judaism. 

From the Fall of Jerusalem to the Beginning of the Christian Era. 

V. The Life and Teachings of Jesus. 

In the Light of the EarHest Records. 

VI. The Work and Teachings of the Apostles. 

From the Death of Jesus to the End of the First Century. 



THE HISTORICAL BIBLE 

"The books seem to me to have great value. They ought to be widely 
used in schools and adult classes in the Bible schools. Not less is their 
value for private reading. The old Bibles read at family prayers often 
contained 'reflections,' which were read with the reading of the Bible. 
A reading through of these volumes would give one to-day the point of 
view of modern Biblical scholarship, as those Bibles reflected the point of 
view of ancient scholarship. J hope they will have a wide use, and be a 
means of making the Bible once more take its place among the forces of 
actual life, in the most practical way. Such a set of books is a boon to 
the religious life of the country." — Prof. F. Irving Wood, Smith College, 
Northampton, Mass. 

"I have thoroughly examined 'Heroes and Crises of Early Hebrew 
History' and * Founders and Rulers of United Israel,' and am more than 
pleased with them." — Rev. C. A. Quinn, Wexford, Mich. 

"I am a subscriber to *The Historical Bible' and believe you have 
issued the very help most needed at the present stage of intelligent Bible 
study. I hope to use it in a course in the Y. W. C. A. of our city." — 
Rev. B. A. Williams, Pastor First Congregational Church, Knoxville, 
Tenn. 

"I consider the set a very practical series of hand-books for senior 
Bible classes, and should be willing to reconunend their use as text-books 
for such a class to any." — Rev. George E. Dorman, Ogonquit, Me. 

"I have read with deep interest and profit the two volumes of 'The 
Historical Bible' recently purchased, and can say that they set forth in 
a splendid, plain way those things now little known, but ought to be 
known, by the people generally." — Rev. L. R. Daniels, Houlton, Me. 

"I have received the First and Second Volumes of 'The Historical 
Bible,' and after reading them, I feel under such obligation to you for 
inducing me to buy them that I must express my thanks to you. They 
are just fine, so fine that no one who attempts to preach the Gospel can 
afford to be without them in his library. They will fill a long-felt want" 
—Rev. B. H. Cross, Harlin, W. Va. 

" In my opinion this is one of the best text-books for advanced Sunday- 
school work that I have seen."— Rev. W. Hamilton Benham, Buffalo, 
N.Y. 



THE HISTORICAL BIBLE 

"I am using 'The Historical Bible' and my students are much pleased 
with it. The lessons drawn from the narratives are excellent and meet 
a ^reat need." — Miss Martha E. Laurence^ Professor in Lake Erie 
College, Painesville, O. 

"I am using *The Historical Bible* in my young people's meeting on 
Sunday evenings and also on Wednesday evening in the church prayer 
meeting, which has been transformed into a church Bible study evening. 
The interest is great. I consider 'The Historical Bible' the finest out- 
line* for historical Bible study that I know. The work is scientifically and 
pedagogically gotten out. The tone and spirit in which it is written is 
reverent, convincing and admirable. I know of nothing which serves 
so well for modem, historical, intelligible Bible study as *The Historical 
Bible.'"— Rev. T. W. Young, Pastor North Baptist Church, Detroit, 
Mich. 

"I am reading with great interest the first and second volumes of 'The 
Historical Bible,' by Kent. It. is a timely and greatly needed work. If it 
does not give us a new Bible, it furnishes us with a new vision of God's 
Book, vastly in advance of any manuals hitherto presented. What the 
world and the Church needs to meet the situation of the hour is a sane, 
scientific, and historical understanding of the Bible, as a book. Our old 
systems have not done this, whatever else they have done." — Rev. I. 
Newton Stanger, D.D., Philadelphia, Pa. 

"As soon as I received the copies of Kent's new 'Historical Bible,' I 
was impressed by their value as text-books for teachers' training courses, 
especially, and for general use by Bible students. I can hardly wait till 
I find time to complete the study which I have already begun. I am 
highly pleased with them and you cannot get the rest of the set out of 
the press too soon." — Rev. L. D. Woodruff, Pastor East Madison 
Ave. Congregational Church, Cleveland, O. 

"The first two volumes of 'The Historical Bible' give assurance that 
we are to be furnished with a most valuable work. Such a work has long 
been needed by students who are modem in their methods. We are 
using it as a text-book in one of our Sunday-school classes, and with 
splendid results." — Rev. James H. Franklin, Pastor First Baptist 
Church, Colorado Springs, Colo. 

"It is a work of careful scholarship, and an excellent example of con- 
stmctive criticism." — The Christian Intelligencer. 



THE HISTORICAL BIBLE 

"This series is evidently the best suited of all of Professor Kent's 
books to the needs of young people and older people unfamiliar with the 
methods and results of modem Bible study." — Biblical World. 

"The author has undertaken to put in popular, practical form the 
really vital parts of the Bible arranged in chronological order, inter- 
preting its essential teachings into the thought and language of the 
present. This is a worthy endeavor for the reason that the results of 
modern Biblical discovery have, as a rule, been inaccessible to the average 
reader." — Baltimore Methodist. 

"This book incorporates the latest results of modem scholarship, and 
is well fitted for use in classes, but no less for the general reader who de- 
sires to gain from the modem point of view a systematic knowledge of the 
history, literature and teachings of the Bible." — Christian Work and 
Evangelist. 

"Those who desire to study the constructive conclusions of the critical 
Biblical scholarship will find in these volumes what they are looking for." 
— Lutheran Observer. 

" For help in preparation of Sunday-school lessons, for supplementary 
work in Sunday-school classes, for training classes in the Sunday-school, 
or for use by any student of the Bible, this work must prove a valuable 
and suggestive aid." — The Universalist Leader. ♦ 

"The question has been asked by many, felt though unuttered by 
many more, What, if any value, remains of the Old Testament if the 
conclusions put forward by modern criticism be accepted? The two 
volumes before us answer that question — for the portion of the Scrip- 
tures which they cover. Is the answer surprising? For the religious 
teaching which we have always understood to be the heart of it all is still 
here. The stories of the Creation, the Fall, the Flood, seem to teach 
Professor Kent just what they teach any one else. The reader unversed 
in the results, still less in the methods, of modern criticism, will be 
charmed with these volumes. He will be charmed, at least, with the 
vivid clearness which is often imparted to the Scripture text by some 
fortunate phrase of the translator; and if he is pleased and delighted 
also with the new view he gets of the steady progress of divine revelation 
and the wonderful grace and condescension of God, who shall blame 
him ? Those who accept the conclusions of criticism will be both pleased 
and helped by it, those who reject those conclusions intelligently must 
reckon with it." — The Cumberland Presbyterian. 



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